The B Tier Superheroes
by Macaroy
Summary: Adrian struggles to balance his superhero and regular life as Hawkmoth schemes to finally capture his Miraculous by turning Paris and Ladybug against him. With pressure mounting, he must turn to his oldest friend to support him as Adrian as well as Cat Noir: Chloé Bourgeois. (Chloe and Adrian pairing) [COMPLETE]
1. Chapter 1: A Day in the Life

The bright lights shining from the Eiffel Tower interrupted the dark night sky, to my dismay, the glow completely illuminated my room, preventing me from getting a wink of sleep. I let out a groan as I covered my face with a pillow. Between keeping up with my studies, modeling for my father, and running around Paris as Cat Noir, I needed at least six hours of sleep. I heard Plagg's muffled voice call out to me through pillow. It sounded like I was going to have to settle for five hours tonight.

I sat up straight and after a small yawn I began to speak in a weary voice, "Plagg, I said you could watch TV if you kept the volume low and let me sleep. You might be able to take cat naps tomorrow, but I need to stay awake for my test."

"But Adrian! You don't understand!" Plagg said as he floated a few inches from my face, "Look at the news, look at what they're saying about us!"

I rubbed my eyes and looked up at the television screen in question. I could make out a news anchor talking over footage of Ladybug and I taking down the latest akumatized supervillain. Getting impatient Plagg yelled out, "They called us a sidekick Adrian! Can you believe that!?"

I chuckled and shook my head, "Plagg, please let me sleep."

I laid on my back again, but Plagg didn't stop complaining. He floated above me, his two tiny arms were crossed in front of his torso, "I can't believe it, you don't care at all that Ladybug is always the one getting credit for all the hard work you put in?"

I shrugged with my eyes closed, "Ladybug knows that her and I are a team and that's all that really matters. I can't take two steps outside without a mob of people chasing after me. I don't mind if we get a little less attention."

I heard Plagg let out a sigh, "Does it really not bother you at all? The people you save, they should appreciate you. Your dad shouldn't keep you in this room… And Ladybug shouldn't have been so quick to reject you."

My eyes snapped open, "Plagg!" I furrowed my brow and frowned at the Kwami. I had a hard time choosing my next words, "She didn't reject me, I mean, at least not one-hundred percent, she just said she values our friendship so, you know, it's like, she needs more time."

Plagg looked disappointed, "Adrian, I think you need to focus a little less on Ladybug and a little bit more on yourself."

I could tell Plagg was worried about me. When we first met I thought all he cared about was camembert cheese but over time I began to read him a little better. "I appreciate the thought Plagg but you don't need to worry about it. It hurts to know she doesn't see me in the same way I see her but I am not ready to let go yet. There isn't another girl like her."

"How do you know that? You haven't been on a date since you've become Cat Noir." Plagg said, now sitting on the edge of my bed.

"Are you going to keep me up all night just to make fun of me?" I tried to shoo Plagg away with my hand, "If I get enough sleep. I promise Adrian and Cat Noir will be just fine, with or without dates."

Plagg conceded as he silently floated over to the TV again but I was still restless. I couldn't seem to stop thinking about everything going on in my life. Being locked in my room all day, Ladybug, and whether or not I needed to take more time for myself. I tossed and turned in my sleep.

I couldn't remember what time I eventually went unconscious. All I know is that it wasn't long before I opened my eyes to see my father's assistant, Nathalie gently shaking my shoulder, "You are going to be late to school Adrian." She said in her professional dialect.

Oh no. I slept in way too late! I quickly jumped out of bed and ran to my closet to begin getting dressed. "Thanks for getting me Nathalie, I'll skip breakfast today, can you tell The Gorilla get the car started while I brush my teeth?"

Nathalie turned her head away from me as I got dressed, "I don't think Mr. Agreste would like you skipping meals. You can eat before we leave. There is also something I need to discuss with you in the meantime."

I turn around with my jeans and black tee-shirt on as I put one arm through my white button-down shirt, "Don't tell me it's another photo shoot. I've been behind on my schoolwork for weeks now."

Nathalie followed me out of my room and waited outside the bathroom door as I brushed my teeth, "Mr. Agreste had intended to visit a gala tomorrow night to represent the Gabriel brand, but something urgent has come up and he will need you to stand in for him."

I left the bathroom and moved downstairs to start eating breakfast, "A gala!? It'll be so weird for me to be there, it'll be a party for a bunch of businessmen won't it? I know I can't say no to father, but can you at least see if you can find someone else to go?"

Nathalie took a deep breath, "Adrian, you are the only one who can adequately fill your father's shoes. If you are worried about fitting in, it isn't uncommon for attendees to bring a date." Nathalie began to mumble to herself. She didn't realize that I heard her, "I mean, you're a male model in middle school it shouldn't be too hard…"

I took the last bite of my toast and looked down, "Alright, I will go to the gala." I said begrudgingly as I began to move from the table and towards the door.

"Thank you Adrian, I know this will be a little more involved than just modeling clothes, I'll begin making preparations while you are at school." Nathalie managed to say as I ran out of earshot to join The Gorilla in the car.

I looked down at my phone. Looks like I will be missing half of first period again. I am beginning to run out of excuses too.

As I said goodbye to The Gorilla, I did a steady job to class. I was all too familiar with the feeling of walking into a classroom half an hour into a lecture. My guilt started to fade away after I sat down with my best friend Nino. He passed me a note he wrote before I even walked through the classroom door, "Don't sweat the teach being mad you're late bro. She already knows your day is cray-cray with the modeling stuff."

I smile and give Nino a thumbs-up. He was generous enough to show me his notes so I could catch up with what I missed. Nino always had my back and always went out of his way for me even when he knew there wasn't any way I could pay him back. I had even considered telling him about my secret life as Cat Noir, but it didn't take me too long to talk myself out of it.

Class ended. I apologized to my teacher and quickly caught up with Nino to begin telling him about the gala as we both walked through the hallways.

"Dude, you're telling me you get to go to some fancy party with millionaires with a chick and you've found a way to complain about it?" Nino said with a smirk.

"Nino, I said Nathalie only suggested I bring a date, I never said I was actually going to." I said correcting him.

Nino made a 'tsk tsk' noise. "That's a real shame bro. It's pretty selfish to go-it-alone, I can't think of one person who wouldn't want to go with you dude."

Great. First Plagg, then Nathalie and now even Nino. It felt like everyone wanted me to get a girlfriend, "Look Nino, I am not trying to lead anyone on. It's not that I don't wan-" I was interrupted by a familiar voice yelling around the corner of the hall.

"You're so stupid! I can't believe I still call you my friend! Don't you know how to be anything else besides useless!?"

"You run to class Nino, I should probably take care of this." I said, moving towards the voice.

"If you're sure dude… Honestly, I don't know how you even put up with Miss Ice Queen. Pretty much everyone in our grade can't stand her."

I shrugged my shoulders, "She wasn't always like this Nino. If I don't try to help her out from time to time, I'm not sure anyone else will."

"Whatever you say man, peace." Nino lightly hit my shoulder has he turned around to walk away from the yelling.

I turned the corner to face Chloe Bourgeois. She was wearing her usual outfit of jean capris, her yellow jacket over her white shirt with a pair of matching white-rimmed sunglasses resting on her head. Sabrina, one of Chloe's friends was standing behind her looking terrified. "Chloe, isn't that enough?" I began, doing my best to sound empathetic, "I am sure whatever happened isn't so bad you have to yell as loud as you are."

Chloe's angry expression melted away after her eyes met mine, letting out an excited, "Oh Adrikins!" as she suddenly wrapped her figure around my body in a tight hug. "Oh I've missed you! I haven't seen you all day!"

I notice Sabrina had already scurried away, leaving me to deal with Chloe alone. I reluctantly hug Chloe back. Chloe always over-reacted when she saw me. I can't remember when she became so bubbly but it can be a little too much to handle on a day-to-day basis. Chloe and I let go of each other, "I know you're trying, but you shouldn't yell at your friends."

Chloe looked down sheepishly. I didn't know how many times we've had this conversation but it was often enough for her to look guilty to be having it again. "It's all her fault, I told her to get me a mirror for my locker so I could re-apply my makeup."

I shook my head. It amazed me how Chloe justified her outbursts. I needed a different approach. I had threatened to stop being her friend, constantly reminded her to be nice, and did my best to give her enough time and attention to vent any frustration she had. I wanted to know why Chloe treated people the way she did.

"Chloe…" I said softly, prompting her to listen carefully, "Is there anything else going on? Not between you and Sabrina, but… Something outside of school?"

Chloe nervously pushed her two index fingers together, "Well, if you really want to know, my dad has been putting me through a lot. It's a lot to be the Mayor's daughter after all. He just wants to dress me up and show me off most of the time."

Chloe surprised me, "I know exactly what you mean."

Chloe seemed to perk up. "Yeah! Oh, I mean… I bet you do. Lately it feels like you're never around, I wish we could spend time together like we used to." Chloe looked really disappointed. Depressed even. Apart from Sabrina, she didn't have any friends at all. She could be bratty at times for sure, but deep down I missed hanging out with her too.

"Hey Chloe, it isn't much, and I am not sure you would even be interested but my father wants me to go to a gala this gala tomorrow night. I was thinking it would be nice to have someone there I could actually talk to." I began to speak without really thinking it through. Maybe it was to cheer Chloe up, maybe it was because of what Plagg said the night before, or maybe I simply didn't want to spend another evening alone, but I invited Chloe.

Chloe let out a large gasp, "The gala for every VIP in Paris!?"

"Yeah that's the one. Hey, how did you know that?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. It was a social gathering for old people. I wondered why Chloe got so excited.

All of a sudden, I was assaulted by another one of Chloe's hugs, "Adrian! My daddy was going to make me go to that same gala! I was worrying about it all day! I would love to go with you!" Chloe began to giggle as she buried he head into my shoulder.

"The exact same… Gala?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. It made perfect sense though. Chloe and I were both in the public eye and our parents treated us a lot differently than anyone else our age. I began to laugh along with Chloe. Sometimes I forgot just how alike we both are.


	2. Chapter 2: Rush Hour

The school day seemed drag on longer than usual. I haven't always been allowed to attend a public school. Most of my life had been incredibly sheltered. Going to school and making friends normally felt like a dream. I was beginning to slow down though, being up late last night saving Paris with Ladybug and Rena Rouge didn't do me any favors when it came to living my fourteen year old life.

"Adrian! Bring your sword up!" My fencing instructor yelled at me as my sparring partner scored an easy point on me, striking my sternum with his blade. "If you can't give it your best Agreste, don't show up to practice!" I could hardly disagree with my fencing coach. I wondered what I was doing here. I barely got through the school day and now I was so tired any fencing practice I had planned was just being wasted because of my poor focus.

I didn't sulk for long. I jumped after I heard a large crashing noise from only two blocks away. "What was that!?" One of my teammates yelled. I knew exactly what that noise was: a supervillain.

"Sorry coach, I'll come back tomorrow when I am feeling better!" I said, quickly running towards the locker room.

"Adrian, wait! It isn't safe!" I could hear him say back.

I pretended I didn't hear as I quickly began to take off my fencing outfit and called out to Plagg, "We have to save Paris buddy, I hope you've eaten enough Camembert today."

Plagg few out of my backpack to speak to me, "Well… I could always go for some more…" He began to say.

"Sorry to hear that since we have no time to lose. Plagg! Claws out!" I held out my ring as Plagg was sucked into it. My leather outfit began to form around my whole body. I looked in the locker room mirror to see that my eyes were green, I had cat ears poking out of my hair and I was most definitely a superhero.

I ran outside with my new black attire, using my magic pole to begin leaping on rooftops, running towards the commotion. Feeling the wind rip through my hair never got old. When I was going through my day as Adrian Agreste I felt drowsy and tired, when Plagg and I team up, I felt like I came awake.

I spotted a neon-blue monster truck down in the city streets below. The truck was massive, nearly three times the size of Ladybug who stood a few dozen yards away. She quickly used her yo-yo to snatch a civilian out of danger from harm's way as the large blue vehicle smashed into a building and came out the other side. Despite the incredible crash, the monster truck didn't have a scratch. I jumped down to the street-level to get closer. I noticed the driver was a pig-like man with red skin wearing a button up shirt and caches.

"No one can stop Road Rage! I will smash any traffic in my way! These streets are mine!" The pig squealed in a high-pitched voice as he began to run over parked cars with his massive vehicle.

This guy was a pun goldmine.

"Hello M'lady." I said, meeting up with Ladybug, "Who invited this road hog?"

Ladybug covered her face with her hand, groaning, "Not now Cat Noir. I need you to stay focused." She cleared her throat and started talking in an analytical tone, "His akuma is a pair of fuzzy dice he keeps hanging inside of his truck. I only need you to only distract him for ten seconds while I go for the dice."

I raised a brow, "But Ladybug, how are you going to get to the akuma? Even if you huff and puff it's not like you can just blow his whole truck down."

Ladybug smiled and looked down at a red screwdriver she held in her hand. The tool was red and decorated with black polka-dots, "With this! Stick to the plan Cat Noir, I got this."

Ladybug had already used her superpower to produce a lucky charm. I didn't know what Ladybug was planning with the screwdriver, but her ideas never failed us before. A smile found my face. I loved to see Ladybug in action. I was grateful to be a part of her escapades. She was always in the back of my mind, motivating me to save Paris day in and day out. I began to run towards the screeching sound of wheels and the smell of burnt rubber as I felt my leather cat tail trailing behind me.

I ran after the monster truck on foot but my eyes widened in surprised when I realized where I was. I was standing between the monster truck and Paris' largest art gallery, the Louvre. I hear a whiney voice inside the truck, "Cat Noir, if you want to save all the artwork in this building, you have to give me your miraculous!"

I grit my teeth. This was not a good place to stand off against a supervillain. I had to trust that Ladybug knows that too. She'll take care of this guy no problem, I just have to get his attention on me. "Not a chance piggy! You're going to be thanking me for saving your bacon after I get your akuma!"

The engine of the blue machine erupted with a loud roar as it sped towards me. I held my staff in my hand, ready to leap away. "Come on ladybug, I am sure you have a plan, just hurry up already." I silently pleaded. In the nick of time, Ladybug swung from her yo-yo, moving dangerously close to the front of the now speeding truck. There was a small fissure in the ground where she propped the screwdriver up, allowing Road Rage to run straight over it and puncture his left tire. Thankfully, Ladybug had managed to avoid getting hit as the pig began to spin out.

The truck came to a full stop. "W-what!? What's going on?" He said with an 'oink.' The pig-man jumped from the driver's seat to inspect the damage Ladybug had caused to his truck. I looked up and saw Ladybug perched on the side of a building, she offered me a wink, encouraging me to make my move. I started to run at the supervillain, extending my staff to push myself up into the air, straightening my leg out to deliver a flying kick to the pig.

"Sorry about this, but saving the day is in my job description." I said the words with a confident smirk. I saw Road Rage begin to reach up towards me. I knew I was much faster than this guy but my movements were slow, the same they had been during my fencing practice. I tried to shift my weight to dodge his movement but as I felt my ankle being grabbed, my smile faded. Remarkably, the pig caught my leg in midair and before I could regain my sense of direction I was thrown against the stone wall of the Louvre. I placed my hands on the ground to slowly prop myself up, disoriented after being thrown several meters.

My head was still spinning as I heard Ladybug scream. I didn't give her enough time. The sound of her in pain was enough for me to try to get my act together. I shut my eyes tight and slapped my cheeks to wake myself up. I opened my eyes to spot the monster truck, its passenger side facing towards me. Ladybug was pinned down on the other side. She was squeezed between the pig-man and the pavement. Without thinking, I began to run towards the truck.

"Cataclysm!" I yelled as I planted my right hand on the door, feeling the metal frame melt away as I pushed right through it. I looked up to see the fuzzy dice hanging from the rear-view mirror. I snatched the dice and pulled them apart, allowing the akuma butterfly to fly out of the broken string that used to hold the two dice together.

"Quick! Get the butterfly Ladybug!" I called out as Road Rage got up from Ladybug and began to run straight for me."

"It's time to de-evilize!" Ladybug called out, catching the akuma in her yo-yo, "Gotcha!"

The butterfly's black color had changed to white as it began to fly away from Ladybug, "Bye-bye little butterfly." She said softly before she limped towards the screwdriver wedged in the monster truck. She threw the lucky charm in the air, "Miraculous Ladybug!" And all of the damage that had been caused began to be repaired. Cars were un-flattened, the wall that I had crashed into was fixed and even the skid marks on the road had disappeared. The pig-like man known as Road Rage had changed back into a middle-aged balding man who wore a white tank top and jeans two sizes too big.

"Ey, sorry 'bout that, sometimes I get a little outta' hand with all these kids on my drive home." The man said nervously.

Everything was back to normal except for Ladybug's right leg, she had been favoring her left ever since she screamed. I walked towards Ladybug offering a fist for her to pound it after a job well done, but as she saw my hand, she only knelt down to clutch her injured leg, "Cat Noir, what happened? I only needed you to distract him for ten seconds!" She spoke in an aggravated tone. I felt like Ladybug had put me on trial.

"I'm sorry Ladybug, I think lately I've-"

Rena Rouge had jumped down from a rooftop building to meet me and Ladybug at the worst possible moment and managed to cut off my explanation. "Girl, distractions are my thing. You should have waited for me to get here before making any crazy moves!"

"Rena!" Ladybug's scowl was replaced with a smile, "A little late but I am glad to see you anyways!"

I waved to Rena but Ladybug immediately snapped her attention back to me, "Look Cat Noir, I need you to be focused out here. We may have had a supervillain attack five consecutive days, but if you can't handle it you should just leave things to Rena and I."

I felt like Ladybug had wedged a knife in my chest. "I thought we were a team Ladybug."

Rena Rouge stepped into the conversation, "You are a team, but you don't need to feel pressured to push yourself so much. There have been more superheroes popping up every day. It used to be just you and Ladybug but now you two have Queen Bee and I." Rena said self-assuredly.

Ladybug rolled her eyes, making a 'psh' noise, "Queen Bee? I am not sure we can really count on her." Ladybug's earring began to flash. She only had a minute before she would change back. "Rena can you take me someplace to transform? It's hard for me to walk around."

Rena nodded, "Of course I will, helping you out is sort of my thing." She waved back to me, "Later Cat Noir!" she said, following Ladybug as she used her yo-yo to swing away.

"Bug out!"

My ring began to flash as well, but I had no motivation to move. I stared at my feet. At the time, I didn't notice the press around me or the onslaught of flashes from their cameras. My ring showed me that I only had one more minute to remain in my secret identity.

I had to transform back. I knew I could sulk later but if the world found out I was Cat Noir, that wouldn't be good for anyone. I used my magic pole to jump to a nearby rooftop where I began to run back to my school.

I didn't make it three blocks before I eventually ran out of time and my leather suit disappeared as I was left powerless on top of a hospital building.

Plagg surprised me as he flew out of my ring, "I can't believe Rena and Ladybug said those things about us!" He yelled in his raspy voice. Plagg was normally exhausted after granting me my superpowers. I knew he must have been just as upset as I was.

"They didn't mean it Plagg. I am sure having a villain attack every day for the whole week has her as tired as me. She only meant to be considerate." I tried to give Ladybug the benefit of the doubt. After all, she didn't say anything I disagreed with.

Plagg flew up to my eye-level, "Adrian she is trying to replace us! After you were the one who got the akuma! Weren't you listening to how they talked about Queen Bee? Get over your Ladybug obsession and realize you shouldn't be treated like this!"

My mind became clouded after I heard Plagg mention Queen Bee. I should have stood up for her. She was as much a part of the team as Ladybug and I but I was too caught up in my emotions. Maybe Plagg was right about Ladybug saying those things but bugaboo and I have been fighting crime for over a year now. There was no way I'd let our partnership deteriorate after a small little outburst. "It's fine Plagg." I said in my best reassuring tone, "Paris is safe, we shouldn't worry about anything else."

Although he looked like he was about to say something, Plagg suddenly flew straight into my pocket. "What's the matter? Oh. Wait." I turned around to see that the door leading to the rooftop had been opened and in the doorframe a concerned nurse was speaking into a radio.

"Yes! I think one of the patients escaped again! He's been standing here on the roof for a while now just talking to himself!"

I let out a sigh. I guess this was the life of a superhero, moving from one ridiculous situation to another while making up the best excuses you can.


	3. Chapter 3: The Phone Call

The nurse that found me guided me downstairs. She maintained a skeptical look on her face as I tried to make up a story about how I got lost in the hallways and ended up on the roof. "I am sorry to hear that, do you need to call your parents to pick you up then?" she asked me as I began to walk towards the front door.

"I wouldn't worry about it. I have a feeling they're already on their way." I called back, "Thanks for showing me around!" I began to walk on the sidewalk towards my school. The superhero high began to wear off, I felt my body become heavier and my movement became sluggish.

As I had predicted, someone took a picture of me walking and shortly after, I saw my father's car had stopped right in front of me, but instead of being greeted by the large and imposing figure of The Gorilla, it was Nathalie who stepped out of the car, holding my backpack in her hands. "Adrian, why did you leave fencing practice without telling anyone where you were going?" Nathalie had a melancholy expression on her face while she spoke, it made my chest swell with guilt.

"Oh hey Nathalie! I-"I searched my brain for a quick excuse, "I uh- well, I felt sick so I thought I'd walk down to the hospital." I said, nervously laughing after I managed to get my words out of my mouth.

Nathalie handed me my backpack, "You should know better than to run off like this. Every time your father gets more and more uncomfortable with the idea with you going to public school."

I perked up, "Wait, Father isn't going to make me stay home again is he!?" I started to panic. School was the only place where I could have a normal life. I could feel my hands beginning to slightly tremble. I asked my question but I wasn't ready for the answer.

Nathalie opened her mouth and closed it with a look of uncertainty. She was trying to decide how she was going to phrase her next words while a crushing feeling of suspense fell upon me. "He said that you would be allowed to finish the school year, but after that he would like you to receive your education from me."

"Oh… I guess that leaves me with a few months then…" I bottled my emotions. Getting mad and yelling at Nathalie wouldn't do anyone any good.

"I understand you're disappointed but with you sneaking off every other night, your father is starting to worry about you." Nathalie broke eye contact with me, "Maybe if you get straight A's again this semester and do exactly as Mr. Agreste says, I think you may be able to change his mind and come back to school next semester."

Nathalie didn't agree with all of the decisions my father made but he was a powerful person. With my father busy with work, she was the one taking care of me for the better part of a year. She knew the request to take me out of school was unfair. I could see through Nathalie's cold exterior and could see she was having a hard time breaking this news to me.

"Yeah. You might be right Nathalie, I won't run off and I'll work even harder at school."

My words betrayed how I actually felt. Nathalie and I drove home in complete silence as I checked my phone. I started to feel overwhelmed. Lack of sleep, physical exhaustion from stopping Road Rage, and the news that I would only have a few months left with my friends started to make me delirious. I needed to talk to someone. Someone who might understand what I was going through.

I looked through my voicemail and I was astounded to see that I had 2 missed calls from Chloe Bourgeois. There was a point in time that Chloe and I would stay up late at night, talking for hours on end, falling asleep and waking up to realize that neither of us hung up our phones. As time passed, Chloe and I both got more and more busy. Father wanted me to take on more responsibilities in my modeling career and Chloe would leave for trips around France that her father set up for her. These days it's rare for her to call me once every two weeks. I wondered what was so urgent that she'd reach out to me today.

I got out of the car when I arrived at my house. I walked straight up to my room as Nathalie remind me of my social life's impending demise. "Remember Adrian. No sneaking out of your room if you want to convince your father to keep letting you go to school."

I shuddered as I closed my door. I looked around my all too familiar room. There was no way I could be caged in here twenty four hours a day like I used to. I felt sick to my stomach as I opened up my windowsill. My father was making huge changes in my life but he wasn't anywhere around to even talk to most days. I leaned into the window-frame, sitting so that one leg could lazily hang in the spring breeze and the other could be resting inside the house.

I dialed Chloe and before I could even bring the phone up to my ear she had already picked up, "Hey Chloe, I saw you called earlier today, is something the matter?" I tried to remain cool but as I spoke but I could hear just how shaky my voice was. It was obvious something was wrong with me.

Chloe began to speak frantically, "Oh! Hello Adrian! Sorry, I didn't expect to hear back from you so soon!"

"Oh, is now a bad time?" I asked in a wavering voice.

Chloe took a short pause before speaking again. "I-I just wanted to say thanks for inviting me, that's all okay!?" Chloe seemed really aggressive with her words, was she upset? As I was about to respond to her, Chloe corrected herself, "Wait, no! I didn't mean it like that, I meant to say… You already know what I meant to say!"

I began to wear a smirk. Chloe had _never_ thanked me for anything before, I was ready to milk this moment for all that it was worth. "I am sorry, but what are you talking about Chloe?" I said giving up my nervous tone of a voice for a more playful one.

Chloe descend in nervousness, each word sounded more uncomfortable than the last. "You know, you could have invited anyone to the gala, not that any of them would be as lovely or as wonderful of me of course! And really, choosing me as your date was a pretty obvious choice. Wait! Wait! Wait! That isn't how I wanted to sound at all!"

I began to chuckle over the phone as I looked over my shoulder to be treated to a gorgeous Paris sunset. The sky was a mixture of amber yellow and cerulean blue. I relaxed my shoulders and heard Chloe finally speak clearly, the sincerity in her voice made me truly believe she meant what she said next, "Adrian, thank you for asking me go to the gala with you, it's all I've been thinking about today."

All day? I asked her off-hand and played off the party like it wasn't a big deal. I had no idea it would mean so much to her. "You're very welcome Chloe, I am looking forward to it too." I smiled to myself, "Was it really that hard to say something nice for a change?" I teased.

"Oh whatever!" Chloe said returning to character, "You should be thanking me you know! I never talk to anyone like that!"

"Yes, I think everyone at our school is painfully aware of that." I said, beginning to chuckle halfway through my sentence.

"They don't think that, everyone loves me!" Chloe protested.

I moved my fingers through my hair, "Sure they do… Sure they do." That was enough teasing for now, "I am glad I called. One minute of talking with you was all it took to turn my mood completely around."

"What can I say? I do have that effect on people." Chloe gloated, "You did sound different when you said hello, what's up Adrian?"

I continued to stare at the sunset, "Let's not talk about it right now, it'll just put a dampener on things."

"Adrikins." Chloe said confrontationally, "You just listened to me pour my heart out and you can't trust me enough to tell me if anything is wrong? Just spit it out."

"You only said thanks, I wouldn't call that 'pouring your heart out.' I think most normal people say 'thank you' more than once per day."

"Adrian!" Chloe exclaimed in an aggravated tone.

"Alright, alright. I guess you'll figure it out one way or another." I took a deep breath, "Chloe I only have until the end of the year to go to Dupont High. In a few short months, my father is going to force me to be homeschooled again."

I heard Chloe give an over-dramatic gasp. "That's terrible! I am going to talk to my daddy, I think he can figure out a way to change your dad's mind! Don't worry Adrian I-"

"Chloe." I interjected, "I know my father, if I can't change his mind the mayor of Paris won't either. Especially after all that's happened."

Chloe caught on, "You mean what happened with your mom?"

My face tensed reflexively. My mother had passed away a year ago and the mere mention of her name made me squirm. "Yeah, that's right." I said, relaxing my muscles, "He doesn't want anything to happen to me. It's why he tries to keep me as close as he can. My hands are tied Chloe, I don't know what I could do to change his mind."

"Here is what you do!" Chloe announced, "You walk right up to your dad's office and you tell him that the mayor's daughter will be in emotional distress if you leave school, and it's his duty as a citizen to not make you be homeschooled!"

"Were you even listening to what I was saying? I can't change my father's mind." I said, sounding defeated.

"No, you're the one who isn't listening." Chloe asserted, "There is no way I am going to let you leave school, it isn't going to happen."

I started to feel better. It might be conceited, but when I heard how fired up Chloe got about keeping me in the same school as her I felt important. We may have spent a long time apart, but Chloe still saw me as a close friend she wasn't willing to give up. "I appreciate you saying that but please, let's leave your father out of this, he's probably busy enough as it is."

"Alright…" Chloe said retracting, "But you need to promise me you are going to find a way to come back to school next year."

"I promise I'll do everything I can." I knew the answer wouldn't satisfy Chloe so I quickly decided to change the subject, "Have you figured out what you're going to be wearing tomorrow night?"

Chloe took the bait. "Ah!" she exclaimed, "I found the perfect thing! I won't tell you though Adrikins! It's a secret for tomorrow night! You will simply adore it I am sure!"

"I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight if you leave me hanging like that." I joked. The truth was I was slowly getting more and more tired. Talking with Chloe was so fun that I wanted to talk longer, but if I wanted to make good on my promise I had to start getting enough rest in order to perform well in school, piano lessons, fencing team and modeling career. "Hey Chloe it's getting a little late. I have to go, but I'll see you tomorrow after I pick you up for the gala, alright?"

"Oh. Sure Adrian, I'll see you tomorrow." She replied quietly. I moved the phone from my ear and moved from the windowsill and back into my room. I was about to hang up but Chloe stopped me, "Hey, wait!" I could faintly hear from the phone.

"What is it?" I replied back.

"You wouldn't mind… If we started to have more phone calls right? It doesn't have to be as often as we used to have them or anything, just more often than we had them now." Chloe said meekly.

"Of course." I said with confidence, "I want to talk more too. Tonight was fun, just like when we were younger."

"Perfect, goodnight then!" Chloe said victoriously.

"Goodnight Chloe."

I hung up my cellphone and turned around to see Plagg had found his way into the stash of camembert I made for him. His cheeks were stuffed with the stinky cheese and he held even more in both of his hands, "Well, well, well. Someone looks pretty happy with themselves."

I closed the window and collapsed on my bed, "You would understand Chloe and I better if you were my kwami back when I first met her." I said, almost instantaneously falling asleep.

"I think I understand everything just fine." I heard Plagg say above me, "I think it's great Adrian. She may be pretty awful to everyone else, but she sure seems to really care a lot about you."

"Of course… I care about her too. It's like… I… Said…" After a brief yawn I stopped replying to Plagg and let myself rest. It felt like the longest day I've had in months and I still had the gala to look forward to. Without another thought, I fell into a deep sleep.


	4. Chapter 4: Goodbye Nino

"Whoa! You asked out Chloe on a date!? I didn't know you had it in you dude!"

Nino ran up to me while I was walking to class. He didn't seem to mind that he stopped me in the middle of a busy hallway. He always seemed to get a lot more energetic when it came to girls. I should have expected this sort of reaction from him as soon as I invited Chloe to the gala.

"Quit being so loud Nino. It's not like we're dating or anything, I just thought it would be fun if she came with me to the gala. Also, how did you even find out that I asked Chloe?" I asked, trying to not draw any more attention from the students that surrounded us.

Nino shrugged, "Chloe told me. Well, not just me, she was blabbing about it to pretty much everyone."

I slapped my palm on my forehead in embarrassment, "Of course she told everyone. She didn't mention anything else, did she?"

Nino put his arm around my shoulder suddenly, leaning in to emphasize his point "Anything else huh? Sounds like you've been holding out on me bro, have you and Chloe had a thing this whole time?"

It looked like Chloe had the decency to not mention the fact this would be my last year in school. "No, no. In fact, I haven't really done anything with Chloe for a long, long time. Really, Chloe and I are just friends."

Nino winked at me, "Just friends that go to fancy dinner parties together with no one else? Whatever you say dude."

I began to smile. The way Nino was acting started to make me laugh but I wanted to stay focused in order to set the record straight. "Nino, I wouldn't lie to you. Besides, I thought you didn't like Chloe, why are getting all excited anyways?"

Nino unwrapped his arm from my shoulder, "Listen, Chloe drives me nuts but if you like her then I am ready to forget about all of that dude. She is super cute and if anyone can fix her terrible attitude it's you man."

"She doesn't need fixing, she means well but I think she has a hard time expressing herself." I couldn't hold back my smirk any longer, "Also I'd be careful with giving Chloe those sorts of compliments. You wouldn't want Alya to overhear you at the wrong time."

"Don't worry about me and Alya bro, this is about you and Chloe." Nino snapped his fingers and pointed to me, "I got it. I know why you like Chloe." Nino folded his hands together and held them close to his left cheek as he fanned his eyelashes, "It's because you like it when she calls you Adrikins right?" Nino said in an overly-feminine Chloe impression.

Nino and I shared a laugh. "She used to call me that back when we were little. I thought I'd eventually grow out of that nickname but I guess Chloe thought otherwise."

"It's a bummer dude, I can't believe I have to leave for vacation during all of everything that's happening with you! Keep me posted on how the gala goes tomorrow alright?"

I took a step back, "Vacation?" How could I forget? Nino had been telling me about a trip he had with his family to the French Riviera for a while now. I had been so busy I completely forgot. "Right! Of course! You're gone for two weeks right?"

"That's right man, it's why I've been so on top of the school stuff lately. I had to get a two week head start before I leave for the beach."

As I recalled what Nino had told me before I started to feel uneasy. I wondered if this was the best time tell him that this will be my last year at school. I would hate for him to not enjoy his trip by worrying about me, even if I end up breaking the news as soon as he got back. I knew Nino was my friend, I didn't want to keep anything from him. I was conflicted.

Suddenly, to save me from making my choice, a dark haired girl began to run through the halls. She covered both her eyes with of her hands as students moved out of her way as she hurdled towards them. As she came closer to me and Nino I could better hear the sounds she was making. The girl was weeping into her hands. She sped past me and I quickly turned to Nino to ask, "Was that Marinette?"

Nino turned back to me, "I think so dude."

"She didn't look to good, give me five minutes Nino, I'll go see what's wrong."

Nino placed a hand on my shoulder, preventing me from chasing after her, "Actually, I think I should go check up on her, don't worry Adrian, you just leave this one to me dude."

I rested my hands on the back of my head, "If you're sure Nino... Does that mean this is the last time we'll be seeing each other before you leave?"

"'Fraid so dude." Nino held out a fist to me, "Take it easy when I am gone man, alright?"

I reached out my fist to meet his, "I will, you have fun on your big trip."

With that, Nino ran down the hall after Marinette. I wouldn't see Nino again for two long weeks. When it came to helping me with schoolwork, giving me honest advice, or just making me laugh when I had a rough day, he was always there for me. Nino leaving while we had such little time left in the year didn't sit right with me.

The rest of the school day flew by. I was well rested now and more motivated than ever to succeed. My fencing instructor was so impressed by my resolve that he agreed to forget all about my behavior the day before. Despite all of this I had a concern that gnawed in the back of my mind: when would Hawkmoth attack? It was hard for me to believe that for five days in a row someone had been akumatized just by coincidence. A new super villain was just around the corner, at the same time, canceling my plans to attend the gala would be a disaster. I cautiously looked out the window as The Gorilla drove me home. "Please let today be normal for a change." I quietly begged.

As planned earlier, I met up with Nathalie in the living room. "Cutting it a little close aren't you Adrian?" she said in a calm voice, "Never mind that, please get changed into your suit as I explain what your father wants from you." Nathalie gestured towards a white suit jacket neatly displayed on a coat hanger Nathalie had moved from another room.

I approached the suit and felt the material in my hands. The suit looked very familiar to me, the ivory white color looked pure. I glossed my fingers over the fabric. Years of modeling had taught me the difference between a cheap and expensive suit, and money couldn't buy anything better than this.

I started to feel pressured, "This is made from Italian wool. I haven't worn anything like this even for my photoshoots. Father must take this event really seriously if he is letting me actually wear a suit like this." I said looking over my shoulder to Nathalie.

Nathalie nodded her head, "This gala dinner ball was organized to recognize the achievement and excellence of Paris' most successful individuals. As his son, Mr. Agreste knew it was imperative that you represent his company well."

I turned the coat over and saw that it also had a matching grey vest and a solid red tie to compliment the rest of the outfit. I realized where I had seen this before. "Nathalie. My father designed this just for me didn't he?"

I was too busy marveling at the suit's design to turn around but I could hear the fondness in Nathalie's voice, "Yes, he did. He worked a sleepless night making sure it was just perfect for tonight."

I was in awe of what I held in my hands. While it still held the trademark _Gabriel_ style, the color scheme and the solid colors made less dark and seemed more inviting than my Father's attire. Meticulously, I put the three piece suit on while Nathalie had her back turned to me. Recently, I felt my father didn't want to spend any time with me but as I wore his handiwork, I could feel that this could have only been made for me. This wasn't another piece to father's catalog, this was his masterpiece.

"It's okay to turn around Nathalie." I called to her, "How do I look?"

In Nathalie's systematic fashion, she scanned me from the top down, "Mr. Agreste's work is immaculate as ever, I was uncertain how you would look with something so formal but seeing you now reassures me. You wear it well Adrian." There was a fine outline of a smile on Nathalie's lips as she spoke.

"That's good, this is incredibly comfortable to move around in too. Anyways, I should be heading out with The Gorilla now, I would hate to keep Chloe waiting." I really didn't want to keep her waiting. Chloe was pretty hot-headed and making her wait for me was a surefire way to ruin the entire evening.

"Of course, you invited Miss Chloe Bourgeois correct? I hope I spoke the name correctly earlier to your father."

Nathalie stopped me in my tracks, "Yeah, you're saying it right. Hey, you didn't by any chance see my father's reaction when you told him I asked Chloe to go with me did you?" Chloe was infamously heartless around my school. I wasn't sure if the public also shared the same sentiment about the mayor's daughter. Even if they didn't, I would doubt someone as controlling as my father would accept anyone, let alone Chloe.

"Perish any worry Adrian. Your father was overwhelmingly positive towards Miss Bourgeois. He even ruminated about a particular moment when he remembered sitting on a park bench watching the two of you play on the playground near the elementary school." Nathalie straightened my tie for me, "Despite all the contrary evidence I managed to find on her social media, she sounds like a very wonderful girl Adrian."

"Nathalie."

"Yes?"

"Please stop stalking my friends."

I tuned out Nathalie's excuses of how my father explained how essential it was to look into my acquaintances in order to make sure I had healthy influences. I entered in the back seat of my father's car with The Gorilla. I was astonished that someone with such high of expectations would think so highly of Chloe. For a long time I believed I was the only person who could see the good in her but hearing how she left such a strong impression on my father invigorated my interest in her.

Several minutes passed and the Gorilla nodded his head as he stopped outside of Chloe's luxurious home. By now, I could understand his non-verbal way of communicating very well, as if he were saying, "Go on Adrian, knock on the door, I'll just sit in the car so I won't embarrass you."

I stepped out of the car and rang the door. It didn't open for a while but I could hear movement inside and I didn't ring again. After several minutes my patience was rewarded as Chloe emerged. She wore her hair down, allowing her blonde locks to rest gently on her exposed shoulders. Chloe pulled my attention towards her with her electric yellow dress which fit her form all the way down to her knees. She made a statement by wearing high heels, a few more inches and we would have been standing eye-to-eye. More than the dress itself, the girl wearing it was what disarmed me as I stood before her. She dared to assert herself with bright and vibrant dress, even while attending a gala filled with some of the most important people in Paris she still needed to be at the center of attention. She was the sun, floating miles and miles above everyone else, allowing them feel her grace while none except for me ventured to stare at her directly.

"You should see your face right now Adrian." She said slyly, "I'll give you a moment to drink it all in." she said as she wrapped a strand of her hair in her finger, with no regard for the tedious preparation that she put into it mere minutes before.


	5. Chapter 5: A Night To Remember

Chloe and I arrived at the large ballroom where the gala was being hosted. It felt like the entire city had come to witness the event, the press were wandering around taking pictures and interviewing the hundreds of attendees as they all tried to squeeze into the building. Fear began to set in as I looked at the entryway, it was so congested it might be over an hour before I could eventually make my way in. I started to feel claustrophobic, my father would have been used to this sort of exposure but going from the solitude of my room to being in the public eye was jarring.

Unexpectedly, Chloe began to push past the crowd. Despite her fragile figure, she was forceful enough with her approach that people much larger than her actually began to move out of the way.

"I don't have time for this, do you know who my father is? You'd better make way if you know what's best for you!" Chloe commanded as she cut through the crowd.

I called out to Chloe as I trailed behind her. I heard Nathalie's words in my head, "You need to represent the _Gabriel_ brand well." Chloe was shoving past millionaires and journalists. If either had anything bad to say about my father I would be saying goodbye to sunlight along with public school.

I followed the trail of upset men and women that Chloe left in her path, apologizing to each one as I passed them. "So sorry about that! Please excuse me! She didn't mean that, she's just feeling a little anxious! Forgive us!"

It was evident that I was only drawing more and more attention to myself. My modeling career had made me instantly recognizable by most of the people I was apologizing to.

"My stars! Is that Adrian Agreste?"

"Was that your new girlfriend Adrian?"

"Do you believe your father has lost his inspiration after your mother passed away?"

"Why is Gabriel Agreste not attending the gala tonight? Is he planning something big?"

There was no time to answer all of the questions being thrown my way, I kept my eyes on Chloe's yellow dress and kept moving forward, "Sorry! I'll have to answer your questions another time!" I called back as I began to push through the immense crowd.

I had to catch my breath when I finally caught up with Chloe. A bouncer stood between us and the twin doors that would lead us into the gala. "Ugh… What is with these people? It's like they don't know how to behave when there are celebrities around."

"I would hardly call us celebrities Chloe. We didn't need to push past all of those people either, we should have waited." I said reasonably.

Chloe began to frown slightly, "Adrian, that crowd would have held us up all night, I wanted us to enjoy the gala."

I didn't have a comeback. If it wasn't for Chloe's insistence then we would have been swarmed by media outlets. The bouncer cleared his throat to speak and I gave him my attention, "So, are you two on the list or what?" The man spoke in an irregularly deep voice and towered over me.

Out of the corner of my eye I noticed that Chloe was startled by the man. She began to shy away from the bouncer, slowly moving behind me to hide. I quickly took the lead by answering the large man, "I am Adrian Agreste and this is Chloe Bourgeois. We're standing in for our parents this evening." I said assuredly.

The cold and dark demeanor of the bouncer disappeared completely as he took on a new, more animated personality in his response to me, "Oh please forgive me sir! I am such a goof, how could I not recognize you of all people! Here I have Adrian the Fragrance and the mayor's daughter right in front of me and I didn't even know it! Gosh, why of course you can come in! I am sorry for giving you any trouble!"

I chucked and I could hear Chloe nervously laugh with me as she moved out from behind me. I offered Chloe my arm to hold on to, "Shall we?"

Chloe wrapped her arms around mine, her eyes gleamed as she did so, "Of course, you just lead the way." She purred in content.

The bouncer held open the door for the both of us as we walked in side by side. As the door closed behind us, Chloe spoke up, "You know. From his reaction, I would say we _are_ famous whether you think so or not Adrian." She remarked looking pleased with herself.

We moved through the building and into the main ballroom. The room was expansive, white and gold decorated the walls with intricate designs and the mahogany floor was so freshly polished that I could see my own reflection in it. In the front of the room a classical octet provided music to fill the large space. Famous people shuffled along the edges of the room. Even Jagged Stone had made an appearance tonight. "This is amazing." I whispered.

"It's okay I guess." Chloe said flippantly, "This is supposed to be the nicest venue in Paris, I sort of expected it would be bigger."

"You just can't be happy can you Chloe?"

"Well…" Chloe began, "If we're talking about what would make me happy, how about you ask me to dance?" Chloe asked as she squeezed my arm tighter.

I looked towards the center of the room. Despite the efforts of the band, very few people were on the ballroom floor. I pulled free from Chloe only for a moment, only to offer her my hand immediately after, "May I have this dance princess?"

Chloe rolled her eyes, "Princess? Adrian I am a queen." She took my hand and we moved to the center of the dance floor.

As I rested my hand on Chloe's hip the room started to buzz with gossip, it took me several moments but I realized that everyone was talking about us. I lead Chloe with my right hand as we began to move in a circle. I wanted to enjoy the music but I stiffened up each time I heard someone mutter about how cute Chloe and I looked or how my father was probably getting special treatment from the mayor.

"I don't get you at all Adrian." Chloe said as she studied my facial expressions.

Chloe and I continued to waltz as we had conversation, "I don't understand what you mean Chloe. You know me pretty much better than anyone."

"I am talking about how you're acting right now, why are you so tense? This is a party it's supposed to be fun ya' know?" Chloe spoke, oblivious to anyone else in the room.

"I am having fun Chloe." I said correcting her, "It's just that everyone is staring right at us, I am surprised you're handling it so well."

"That must be because everyone always has their eyes on me, it's not easy to look this good you know." Chloe stated in a matter-of-fact way.

I held my arm up to spin Chloe. She may have been egocentric but it was hard for me not to get caught up in her energy. She said anything that came to her mind and even if it got her into to trouble with other people she was always true to herself. Apart from her insistence on keeping a high profile, Chloe reminded me a lot of how I acted when I transformed into Cat Noir. Unlike me, Chloe had the courage to be herself without the need for a mask.

"Honestly, you're probably right about that Chloe. Except tonight you don't just look good, you're captivating. I was going to say something sooner but I was too stunned from when I first saw you. Everyone else here must be jealous of how easy it is for you to enchant an entire room." I laid the compliment on thick so I could gage her reaction to see she really believed the things she just said.

As I predicted, Chloe flared up in a bright shade of red, "Wait, wait, stop it Adrian! Not all at once!" I felt Chloe's grip weaken in my hand as she tripped over her feet. I shifted my weight to help her get her balance again, "Now look at what you did Adrian, honestly, can't you save those sorts of things for later?" She scolded me.

"You know, for someone who has no problem giving herself compliments, you sure have a hard time hearing them from someone else." I said dryly.

"S-shut up!" Chloe struggled to say as I allowed her to have the last word.

Chloe and I continued to dance for several more minutes, but as the night continued, I noticed the pianist began to play out of tempo with the rest of his band. I looked around and saw that I wasn't the only one who realized it. I turned to Chloe to see if she noticed too.

"I hope no one gives him a hard time, I can't imagine how much pressure someone would be under playing piano for this many important people."

Chloe tilted her head to one side, "Why would anyone give the piano player a hard time?" Chloe didn't even notice anything was wrong.

I shrugged it off and continued to dance. Likely, I only picked up on the mistake because of the many hours I spent playing piano myself. Angry murmuring started to circulate through the ballroom until eventually a taught thirty year old man with slick, jet black hair began to shout at the band. "You call yourselves a concert band? You couldn't get an audience to listen to you even if you all played on the sidewalk!" he heckled.

The outburst had stopped the concert band from playing their instruments as well as ceasing all other conversation. Silence enveloped the entire ballroom as the pianist stood up and slowly walked outside.

Chloe was the first one to break the quiet atmosphere, "Serves him right, honestly, a gala like this and he can't even play correctly."

"Chloe, you didn't even notice anything was wrong when I pointed it out to you." I reminded her.

Chloe looked like she had just been put into a box. "Yeah well, you noticed right? Didn't it bother you?"

I sighed, "Not really. I was enjoying our dance but now it looks like we won't have any music for the rest of the night." I lamented as I watched the seven other members of the band shuffle out to follow the piano player.

Chloe thought for a moment and came to the same conclusion that I had. It didn't matter how the band sounded as long as we could dance. Chloe angrily fixated her glare on the black haired man, "Hey! You! Why did you have to say something like that!? You weren't even dancing! Why did you go and ruin it for everyone else!?"

Hundreds of eyes spectated the man as walked straight towards Chloe with a glass of wine lazily resting in his right hand. Even though he wore a sullen expression, his skin was remarkably smooth and his jawline was well-defined. I would have thought he was a model like me if it wasn't for the military medals that decorated the left side of his black coat. As he spoke, his speech was abnormally precise. "I am afraid we haven't met my dear, please, you can call me Marechal Moulin. If you've already heard of me it could be because I'm the only reason your dear old dad has his job right now." He said venomously. "As for the band, you'd be a fool to argue the amateur mistakes weren't proof enough that they weren't worthy to be here."

I resisted the urge to fight back. I had my father and his company to think about, a misstep here meant that his whole image could be irreversibly damaged. Hearing him speak down to Chloe and the band gave me an overwhelming sense of obligation. I couldn't allow him to get away with what he said while everyone else in the ballroom continued their evening, pretending nothing went wrong. I let Adrian take a back seat as I let out my inner Cat Noir.

"Mr. Moulin, Chloe has a point. Whether or not you think their play is acceptable, you should apologize to the band. They did their best to make everyone's evening better and shouting them down is no way to treat them especially when they were only trying to help us all enjoy our evening." I remarked defiantly.

Marechal Moulin swirled the wine in his glass, taking his time before addressing me, "What a shame. Looks like Miss Bourgeois' spoiled attitude has gone and made everyone around her rotten as well." Marechal shook his head slowly with a look of despair, "I can see now I shouldn't have come here tonight. I thought these galas were only open to the men and women who provide for this wonderful city. _Children_ such as you have no place here." Suddenly, Marechal flicked his glass towards me as he spilled red wine over me.

I looked down with a faint gasp. I placed my hands over my coat, feeling the wine drip through my fingers. My father made this suit just for me, he spent hours making sure the measurements, the color, and the materials were all perfect but it was all for nothing. I watched helplessly as the wine stained the entire front-side of the Italian wool. I began to tremble with rage as I slowly tightened my grip on the stained fabric. The shock prevented me from looking up towards Marechal as he walked away. I stood in the middle of the ballroom, clutching my suit. How long would I need to wait until my father gave me something as nice as this? Forever?

"Adrian..?" Chloe whispered in concern.

Before I could get my bearings, the pianist re-entered the room. I noticed he wore different clothing and stood much taller previously. He wore a cloak with black and white stripes along with a large top hat. I could squint and make out that he was also wearing what looked to be white face paint. He began to address the entire crowd, "I am so sorry about the slight delay ladies and gentlemen! I have returned! I am afraid it won't be with my band tonight though! This evening I will be performing as a solo act, put your hands together for the incredible Show Stopper!"

The gala patrons began to panic as they all ran in different directions. I should have known that Hawkmoth would try to akumatize the piano player after being embarrassed in front of everyone. I would have time to regret not helping him later, right now I needed to stop him from hurting anyone at the gala.

"Chloe, I have to do something real quick, you try to get out of here!" I told Chloe as I began to run.

"Oh! Yes! That's a good idea Adrian!" Chloe called back as she ran in the opposite direction.

I ran into the men's bathroom where Plagg flew out of my suit. The kwami was soaked in wine, "Are you okay to transform Adrian? I can tell that Moulin guy really got to you."

I shook my head, "I am fine. We have more important things to think about now."

Plagg nodded his head and allowed me to summon his power.

"Plagg! Claws out!"


	6. Chapter 6: Stopping The Show Stopper

I looked down at my ring in an effort to contact Ladybug but to no avail. She was likely doing something in her normal life, I could only hope that she would hurry up to help out. I ran back out into the ballroom with my black leather suit on, fully prepared to take on The Show Stopper alone but thankfully, the notorious Queen Bee also appeared with me on the opposite side of the room. The superhero wore a yellow and black mask and held her hair in a ponytail with her honey bee miraculous. Her yellow costume was stylish with black covering her appendages and torso.

"Great. I have to team up with the wannabe Ladybug." Queen Bee commented sarcastically.

"You're the only bee I want, my queen." I said giving her a slight bow.

"What luck we've ran into tonight!" Show Stopper announced, "Ladies and gentlemen please give a warm welcome to Cat Noir and Queen Bee! I am so glad you both made it, when you see my trick you won't want to walk away!" The strangely dressed villain pulled out a ticking metronome from his striped cloak.

Nearly all of the gala attendees managed to evacuate the area but after the metronome ticked several times, a brass cage materialized on the ceiling and fell down upon Marechal Moulin. The cage was large enough for Moulin to remain standing but small enough so he wasn't able to take two steps in any one direction. "How dare you." He seethed, "You cause damage to my eardrums with your music and now you have the audacity to do this!?"

Queen Bee and I started to move instantly. His power was dropping cages on top of people. I knew I had to move unpredictably, sporadically changing direction so the villain would have a harder time pinning me down.

"Is that all you can do? You won't even last one minute against me." Queen Bee challenged as she reached into her bag to pull out her weapon of choice, a top coupled with a draw string. She tugged on the string allowing the top to spin quickly as she carefully rested her feet upon the top to ride it. I looked timidly towards the metronome Show Stopper held in his hand. Queen Bee needed to hurry up.

Tick.

Queen Bee began to move quickly while riding the top, she was headed straight for the supervillain. Could she really be moving so quickly to knock him over before he could create another cage?

Tick.

The Show Stopper let out cackled laughter, "You really thought it's going to be that easy? Hawkmoth made miraculous holders sound smarter than they actually are!"

Tick.

Queen Bee looked forward with a determined look in her eye, she had closed so much distance in only a few short seconds, she was a matter of feet from reaching her target.

Tick.

On the fourth tick of the metronome, two cages formed above us and crashed down with such speed that the wooden ballroom floor cracked after the impact. Thankfully my wild movement was enough to narrowly escape my capture as the cage intended for me landed several meters to my right.

I turned to face Show Stopper once more but was caught off guard after I noticed that Queen Bee wasn't fast enough to dodge the cage. She was pressed up against the bars, sticking one of her arms out, hopelessly grasping the air as she reached for the supervillain, "Get back here!" she demanded.

The metronome continued to tick as The Show Stopper jogged away from Queen Bee's cage, staring directly at me. I had his whole attention, "One down one to go, what is your next move Cat Noir? If you surrender your miraculous now I promise to let your bumbling friend go!" He exclaimed with delight.

"Sorry, I am afraid I can't do that Mr. Freak Show." I quipped with a smile, "I don't think I am ready to be a part of your captive audience tonight. QB! Send your top over to me!"

It look Queen Bee a second to understand the nickname I just gave her. She dropped her top outside of the cage and by pulling on the drawstring and it began to speed towards me.

"What an interesting turn of events! I can't believe that Cat Noir is actually going to try the same strategy as Queen Bee! Go ahead, see what happens!" Show Stopper mocked.

Queen Bee's top made its way to me. I kicked the top up with my foot and snatched it in my left hand in one fluid motion. I squinted my eyes at the metronome, taking careful note of the rhythm as I tugged on the drawstring of the top to communicate to Queen Bee that I wanted to be pulled towards her.

One more tick of the metronome caused another brass cage to appear over my head but before it could land on me Queen Bee and I pulled the drawstring simultaneously, causing me to quickly fly out of the way.

I began to slide towards the cage that trapped Queen Bee. "Cataclysm!" I yelled out as I gripped the bars with my right hand, causing the bars to break apart with my superpower.

"What are you thinking!? You should have saved cataclysm for when Ladybug got here! What if she needed you to use it for something else!?" Queen Bee complained.

"Don't worry." I said, returning to my strange movement pattern, "I have this guy all figured out. The song he was playing before on the piano had four beats to each measure. He'll drop his cages after his metronome makes its fourth sound."

"How can you be sure? Wait, how many times has is ticked so far?" Queen Bee asked apprehensively.

"That was the third! Dodge now, don't let him figure out which direction you are going to move though!"

I dived out of the way of another cage and was pleased to see that Queen bee had done the same. "Wow, you were actually right kitty!" she chirped.

Show Stopper looked furious, "Gah! So you may have figured out how my power works, but now I am ready to up the tempo. You can't keep getting lucky, I'll eventually guess where you will move correctly and then your miraculous will be mine!"

Indeed, the supervillain began to tinker with the metronome until the ticking had become significantly faster. Cages materialized above our heads and fell every several seconds now. The ballroom may have been big, but the amount of cages that littered the auditorium meant that Queen Bee and I didn't have much time before we completely ran out of space.

"QB, I need you to ride your top again. I have a plan." I wanted to go into more detail but with Show Stopper being in the same room, if I got too specific he could easily sabotage the plan.

"No! We need to wait for Ladybug!" Chloe insisted. "She will be able to handle this no problem!"

"She probably can." I agreed, "But she isn't here right now, I know we can stop him so please get on your top and trust me!"

Reluctantly, Queen Bee did as I asked, "Fine, but if this doesn't work I am _so_ telling Ladybug you were the reason we messed up."

I quickly moved behind the yellow heroine and placed one end of my metal staff on Queen Bee's back, "Get ready for it." I said in anticipation.

The Show Stopper let out a frivolous laugh, "You make it too easy for me! I'll catch you both in the same cage, a two-for-one!"

Queen Bee closed her eyes as if to accept her defeat, but I held on to my confident expression, "Showtime." I muttered as I extended my staff to its full length, shooting Queen Bee at Show Stopper like a missile. As they collided, the metronome left Show Stopper's hands and began to soar through the air. I avoided the final cage that dropped and ran towards the metronome to catch it.

"No! My power! I can't let you-!" The Show Stopper managed to get up, but cut his sentence short after he realized Queen Bee had tied him up with her top's drawstring as it continued to spin in circles around his feet.

"You really thought it'd be that easy? I thought Hawkmoth akumatized smarter supervillains." Queen Bee said triumphantly.

I snatched the metronome out of the air and broke the device over my knee. The akuma butterfly flew out into the open air and I began to panic. Ladybug still wasn't here, I couldn't let the butterfly fly away or else it would duplicate and I would have to deal with an entire city of Show Stoppers.

"Hey! Marechal! I need your wine glass!" I didn't like calling for his help, but Queen Bee needed to hold the supervillain tight as I kept the akuma in a safe place until Ladybug showed up. Marechal threw me the same empty wine glass he used to spill his drink on me. I caught the butterfly, using the glass and my palm to enclose it.

My ring flashed and I realized it only showed one final paw print. I only had one minute before I turned back into a normal person. I didn't have time to stand around to wait for Ladybug. I began to walk towards Marechal Moulin to pass off the akuma to him. "I am about to change back, you take care of this for me alright? Ladybug can purify this guy and change all of this back to normal, understand?"

Marechal nodded his head and I began to run out of the ballroom to transform back. Queen Bee nodded her head to me in understanding as I left her to handle things until Ladybug arrived. Without any time to spare I ran back into the bathroom and right as I turned the corner my leather suit disappeared and I was back wearing my wine-stained suit.

Plagg flew out of my ring, "Whew. That sure was crazy. Good job Adrian, you handled that perfectly. Now if you don't mind I am going to take a little nap." He said as he floated into my pocket.

"Rest up, you've earned it buddy." I said fondly before walking out of the bathroom.

I moved towards the exit of the building. I didn't bring any camembert with me since I didn't want to smell bad during the gala and without it there wouldn't be any way for Plagg to turn me back into Cat Noir. I wanted to check on Queen Bee but being the same room as a supervillain without my powers was a risk I wasn't ready to take.

Suddenly I saw an older man with grey hair and blue eyes down the hallway running towards me. "Don't get any closer! There is an akumatized supervillain in there!" I called out to him, "We have to get out of here!"

As the man approached closer I suddenly recognized him. It was Chloe's father and the mayor of Paris, Andre Bourgeois. "Adrian! Have you seen Chloe anywhere?" His voice sounded like he was terrified.

I had to give him the best reassurance I could muster, "Don't worry! Chloe is perfectly safe, I just know she is! So please, let's go outside!"

Despite my best efforts, I couldn't stop Mr. Bourgeois' fast pace. He ran right past me and towards the ballroom. "I have to find my daughter!" he panicked.

I began to hesitate, I couldn't let him get hurt even if I didn't have my powers. I chose to pursue Chloe's father as I ran down the hall after him. As we both emerged into the familiar ballroom, I noticed that Queen Bee was missing. I turned towards Mr. Bourgeois, "Did you see Queen Bee?"

"Why… Yes! I did, but she ran off as soon as she saw me. I can't think of a reason as to why!" The mayor said with a clueless expression.

I pinched the bridge of my nose in frustration. This was not good. The Show Stopper was no longer tied up and he was moving towards Marechal and the akuma that I gave him.

"It must be fate wouldn't you agree?" The Show Stopper said, "To have the two heroes who were supposed to protect you run off without so much as a word! Now, I'll be taking that akuma back!"

Phenomenally, as The Show Stopper was about to reclaim his akuma, Ladybug burst through the door in order to confront him. Ladybug looked different than normal. Even with her mask on I could see that her eyes were puffy and red and the skin around them was raw. As she spoke her breathing was subdued, "It's over for you." She said with strict seriousness as she wrapped her yo-yo around the supervillain's ankle and pulling him to the ground.

Marechal Moulin stood up suddenly to show Ladybug the Akuma, "I got his akuma right here! All you need to do is capture it!"

Ladybug purified the butterfly and allowed it to fly away as the press began to move as a swarm into the scene of the crime. Under normal circumstances, Ladybug would need to transform back but because she didn't need to use her lucky charm, she had the luxury of talking to all of the journalists looking for their latest scoop.

"Ladybug!" One reporter called out, "How did you manage to take down the Show Stopper after mere minutes of arriving here?"

Ladybug turned towards Marechal Moulin, "You should ask him, he was the one who captured the akuma, not me."

I felt nauseated. I gave Marechal the akuma to hold on to, but he wouldn't actually want to take credit for taking down a supervillain would he?

Moulin cleared his throat, "Well, I have spent a tremendous time with the martial arts after the war, really high stress situations like these come naturally to me." He said eloquently as the press began to get noisy with follow-up questions.

I leaned my back against the wall. "It doesn't matter." I verbally reminded myself. What was important was that no one got hurt from the supervillain, there wasn't any point in calling Marechal a liar since it would only call more attention to me being Cat Noir.

Abruptly, Chloe entered back into the ballroom and she clearly didn't share my same opinion. "No way! He's totally making that up! I saw with my own two eyes that Queen Bee and Cat Noir were the ones to get the akuma, not him!"

Before the press could turn their attention on to Chloe, Ladybug spoke up, "Chloe Bourgeois? Why am I not surprised to see you here? You always seem to be around when people get akumatized." Ladybug snapped, "Maybe it's because you're the single worst person in all of France! You just can't see anyone get more attention than you can you!? I bet that's why you're saying that this man is making up his story!"

The media erupted with curiosity, I had to move out of Mr. Bourgeois' way since so many members of the media had surrounded him. "Please! I only came here to see my daughter!" He pleaded as he tried to move past the overwhelming number of journalists, "Please, let me go!"

I cautiously walked towards Chloe. She had been insulted before at school and took it all in stride but this was on another level. She idolized Ladybug as much as I did and hearing Ladybug put so much emotion into her words was enough to even make me feel small. As I got closer I could see Chloe begin to tear up.

"I-It's okay. I don't care what people think." Chloe said sniffling, "I-It doesn't bother me at a-all…"

Chloe was beginning to decline as her speech became more fragmented and weak. I wrapped my arms around her in a tight embrace. "It's okay Chloe, let yourself feel how you want to." I spoke softly, allowing Chloe to hide her eyes in my shoulder.


	7. Chapter 7: Stray Cat

I woke up from the vibration of my cell phone. It was a Saturday morning and I was emotionally exhausted after the gala. Last night I managed to calm Chloe down while Ladybug fixed up the entire ballroom with her superpower. Bugaboo was quick to leave the reporters behind but that left Marechal to stay behind and tell a long and drawn out story of how he managed to get Show Stopper's akuma. Mayor Andres wasn't able to escape the press. There were so many of them, he physically couldn't move to be reunited with Chloe. I ended up calling the Gorilla to take her home myself. I was aware that as soon as the media turned their sights on Chloe she wouldn't be able to hold herself together in front of the cameras.

I rubbed my eyes. Even recounting the events made me want to fall back asleep, but sunlight was already shining through my window, I would end up sleeping all day if I let myself. I turned on my phone and read the screen. It was a message from Nino.

"How did the gala go? Did you have fun man?"

Memories of watching the piano player getting booed off stage, having wine splashed on my coat and watching Chloe cry after trying to defend me all came to mind. Probably best to leave those sorts of details out. I texted Nino back.

"Chloe and I had a great time until a supervillain attacked! Good thing Cat Noir and Queen Bee came though, they took care of him in no time. It was pretty amazing tbh."

I smiled. I felt petty to compliment myself so shamelessly, but I couldn't help but indulge myself. I was happy to know that there was at least one person out in the world that knew that I was the one who saved the day.

I sat up from my bed and saw that Plagg was already up and watching television. Plagg sounded alarmed after he heard me yawn. "Adrian! You're awake earlier than I expected, don't look at the tv whatever you do!" suddenly, the screen Plagg was watching turned black as the kwami jumped on the remote.

I walked over to sit down with Plagg, "Come on Plagg, whatever it is I am sure I'll be able to handle it, it's about us right?" I snatched the remote from the miniature cat and turned the tv on. I saw a close up shot of Ladybug repeating her insult to Chloe.

"…Maybe it's because you're the single worst person in all of France! You just can't see anyone get more attention than you can you!?"

I squinted my eyes in annoyance, "Why are they showing this?" I asked rhetorically.

A female news anchor began to commentate over a shot of the mayor being surrounded by reporters looking nervous, "The girl is none other than Mayor Andre's daughter. Why would Ladybug have such a vendetta against her? Could she potentially have a connection to Hawkmoth? Our investigators are still looking into the matter but Mayor Andre raised some interesting questions last night as he struggled to recall some of his daughter's most basic information such as where she had been during the the past week."

"That's it, I am calling Chloe. This is ridiculous." I said as I pulled out my phone and began to dial.

Plagg tensely turned towards me, "That story wasn't the one I didn't want you to see Adrian."

The tv changed scenes once again, this time it showed me as Cat Noir fighting some early villains. I recognized the footage from fighting Stone Heart, Stormy Weather, and Mr. Pidgeon. The anchor began to talk again, "Our next story is about a superhero we all know and love, it's none other than Cat Noir or perhaps some of you out there want me to say the superhero we _used_ to all know and love. To many, the masked hero lately has seemed to be more of a hindrance than a help to the better-rounded Ladybug."

I leaned forward in my seat, "Hindrance? What are they talking about?"

"It gets worse." Plagg said in a toneless voice.

The footage changed to Marechal Moulin holding on to the akumatized butterfly from last night, "Despite his shortcomings, there are more than enough ordinary heroes willing to pick up his slack. You may recognize this man as Marechal Moulin, a French war hero who single-handedly fought and won against an akumatized supervillain. We have him here in the studio with us to talk about how he managed to pull off such a feat and how he could possibly take up the mantle of Cat Noir himself."

"What!?" I yelled at the screen as Plagg covered his eyes with his paws.

The channel cut to the news anchor sitting at a table across from the dapper looking Marechal who made an effort to be sitting in a position to show off the medals that adorned his outfit. "So, Mr. Moulin, what caused you to jump into the fray instead of simply waiting for someone like Ladybug or Rena Rouge to show up?" the anchor asked.

Marechal folded his hands and laid them on the desk, "Well you see Mrs. Chamack, I have always protected this wonderful country and whether I am on the front lines or if I am just an ordinary civilian it doesn't really matter, I care too much about Paris to let it get ruined by Hawkmoth."

The news anchor looked pleased with his answer, "Now, I wanted to ask you, why are you interested in taking Cat Noir's place, what makes you the prime candidate to step up and more importantly, why is it so important that Cat Noir is the one to step down?"

"Great question. You have to understand that a miraculous holder can pass off their powers to another person. Technically if she didn't do such a phenomenal job even Ladybug could pass the torch off to someone else." Marechal explained plainly, "I think we can all agree that Cat Noir is probably trying his best but the main problem that I, along with the rest of Paris have with Cat Noir is that he refuses to fully-invest himself in his work."

I grit my teeth. My skin began to crawl watching him talk about me in such a nonchalant way as if he knew me. "Plagg is this true? Is it really as easy as handing you off to someone else? That they could become another Cat Noir?"

Plagg seemed skittish, "It's a little more involved than that but that's essentially what happens."

Marechal continued to speak. Even though he was attempting to deceive all of Paris, Marechal was unbelievably well-spoken, "When an akumatized villain attacks we need someone who can reliably take care of the situation in a fast and efficient manner. When I was watching those recordings of the past villains that Cat Noir defeated, I see blind luck as a huge part of his success and what I don't see is him executing on an organized plan. I have the experience, the body and the time to handle anything Hawkmoth can throw my way." Marechal turned to face the camera directly, "Now I just need the miraculous. If you are out there Cat Noir, I want you to understand I just want to make Paris a safer place and I know this is probably all very hard to hear but it's time for heroes like Ladybug and Rena Rouge to have someone they can count on twenty-four-seven."

I turned off the tv screen before I could hear any more. I balled up my hands into fists and stood up from the coach. I was ready to go ballistic. Marechal was in the same room as me when I freed the akuma. Now he went on live television to tell all of Paris that I couldn't handle my job and that he would make a better Cat Noir himself. I paced around my room in anger.

"We should break into the news room and stop that guy from spreading more lies." Plagg suggested crossly.

Plagg's outlandish idea brought me back down to reality, "No, that would make us out to be the bad guys for sure." I rubbed my chin in contemplation. I did have to do something about this. "Plagg I am going to talk to the other three miraculous holders, I think maybe they can help me out with this problem."

"Ae you sure about that Adrian?" Plagg asked as he floated beside me as I walked around my room, "You saw what Ladybug was like last night, I don't know if she has all her screws tight right now."

I paused my train of thought. There was something wrong with Ladybug, she had been acting funny ever since our run-in with Road Rage. "Plagg if I can't trust in Ladybug, who else can I turn to? We've been partners for a while now. If I ask her for help I am sure she can lend me a hand." I had to leave any misgivings I had about Ladybug behind. Staying quiet as Marechal drags my name through the mud wasn't a solution. I didn't know why Ladybug was acting the way she was but I needed her help sooner not later.

Plagg was unconvinced, "Alright, if you think it's a good idea go ahead and suit up." He said shifting back and forth with discomfort.

"Plagg! Claws out!"

I jumped out my window and began to call the others. Rena and Ladybug managed to receive my message right away but Queen Bee was nowhere to be found. Looks like three out of four had to be enough.

I met up with Ladybug and Rena Rouge on the rooftop of the local library. I presumed it would be a quiet enough place to talk without any distractions from onlookers. "Morning M'lady, good to see you too Rennie."

Rena Rouge was the first to speak, "Hey Cat Noir, it's a little early for super heroics, what did you want to talk about?" she asked casually.

In a few short words, Ladybug had created a grave atmosphere, "I have a pretty good idea." She said.

"Yeah, it was all over the news Rena, there is this guy named Marechal Moulin and he's trying to convince everyone he should be the next Cat Noir, I don't know what to do or how to handle it, I came to you two because I have to get back my reputation." I explained as I grew worried watching Ladybug's unchanging expression.

"That's terrible! Ladybug, do you have any ideas?" Rena said, turning towards the polka-dotted hero.

Ladybug looked down at her feet, "Yeah. I don't really know how else to say this but I think we should considering what Marechal is asking."

"What?" I said in a feeble breath. Ladybug's words stuck my chest, leaving my entire body rattling from the impact.

"I am not saying you give him the miraculous! All I am saying is that we need to think about what he is saying and don't rule it out so quickly." Ladybug clarified. "I did some research on him. He has real capabilities. He was in the French military, has a ninth degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do and seems to care a lot about Paris. He's in between jobs and he says he can spend one hundred percent of his time tracking down Hawkmoth."

"Still though." Rena Rouge disputed, "This is Cat Noir we're talking about, are you sure we should just force him to give up being a hero?"

Ladybug raised her hand to stop Rena from talking, "I never said we would be forcing him to do anything, I believe we should think about it. I only bring it up for Cat Noir's sake." Ladybug raised her head and looked at me with a piercing gaze, "Aren't you tired of the supervillains? Don't you just hate it when you have to put your real life on pause to go chase down akumas on the other side of the city? There is someone that actually wants that level of responsibility and I believe he could actually stop Hawkmoth for good, whereas we haven't gotten anywhere close. I am only asking you to put some thought into it, the decision is left to you."

Hearing Ladybug speak so openly and so honestly about Moulin taking my miraculous made me begin to question myself. Was there truth to what she was saying? Maybe this was a blessing in disguise, perhaps I could pass off the accountability of being a superhero on to someone else and go about enjoying my normal life. Was I hanging on to my miraculous because I had fun being Cat Noir? Was it selfish of me to keep being a superhero because I enjoyed it instead of loathing the weight of keeping the city safe?

I could hear one answer pounding in the back of my head as I asked myself each question. No. No. No! No! No! I couldn't allow any more doubt into my mind. I saw Marechal Moulin's true character last night and that's all I needed to know. Giving up Plagg to someone else would be a mistake I would regret for life. "Sorry M'lady." I said coarsely, "I was chosen to hold my miraculous, I am not going to give it up to anyone, especially not Marechal Moulin."

Ladybug frowned, "My opinion is that you don't settle on a verdict too quickly, let Rena and I handle Hawkmoth's supervillains for a few days while you spend some time thinking things through."

Rena piped up again, "Ladybug don't you think you're pushing this too far? Cat Noir is fine as he is!"

I couldn't even appreciate Rena Rouge standing up for me. I couldn't calm down fast enough to be reasonable, "If you know him like I do you wouldn't be so set on him taking my place."

Ladybug stared at me in genuine confusion, "Know him? But Cat Noir, you weren't even there at the gala last night where he captured the akuma."

That was the last straw. I turned around defiantly. If I tried to assert that Queen Bee and I were the ones who did all the heavy lifting she would just yell at me like she did at Chloe. "Do what you want Ladybug but you already heard my answer. I am the one who has to use my miraculous."

Rena sounded as if she wanted to stop me; to try to work things out between us but I had already began running across the rooftops towards my home. In the last three days I've had to say goodbye to Nino, my public school and now Ladybug wanted to keep me away from being a superhero too. I wondered if there could be anyone in Paris who felt as badly as I did right now.

As I entered through my bedroom window I thought of one person who would understand what I was feeling. I was going to see Chloe today.


	8. Chapter 8: Memory Lane

Nathalie looked displeased when I made my request. "I understand you want to visit Chloe but your father has already made it clear that you have too much to do to today."

On a normal day this is where the conversation would end. Nathalie has stopped me from spending my weekends with friends countless times. She would always come up with one excuse or another but I always assumed the real reason was because my father wanted to know where I was at all times. Thankfully, today I had leverage to see Chloe.

"I know, I know, but last night was cut short because of the akuma attack." I reasoned. "We already barely see each other, it just feels wrong to not even talk to her afterwards."

Nathalie peered at me suspiciously, "Are you sure it has nothing to do with her appearance on today's paper?"

"Yeah. That might have a small part of why I want to hang out." I admitted. I couldn't think of a reason to hide something so obvious.

Nathalie took a long pause and then let out a baited breath, "Where do you want to go with Chloe? I am sure Mr. Agreste will want to know all the details."

I was delighted to hear Nathalie cave in to my request. Finally something had gone right for a change, "I was just going to go to her house. She probably doesn't want to be seen out in public after what's happened."

"It is none of my business…" Nathalie prefaced, "But I would consider doing the opposite. You should go out somewhere where there are a lot of people."

"But Nathalie." I said dumbfounded, "People think she is in league with Hawkmoth, wouldn't it be better to stay out of their sight?"

Nathalie adjusted her glasses and began to speak in a detached tone of voice. She gave guidance in the same way a machine would, using formulas and equations to solve any problem that arose, "In the short term, it may make Chloe feel better if she hid herself away, however it is more imperative that people see that Chloe is simply a normal girl. If she doesn't push herself, the people will believe whatever is being printed. Seeing you and Chloe out and about will ease their minds."

Chloe was anything other than normal but it was rare for Nathalie to speak about my personal life. On the rare occasion she did, she always had something intelligent to say. "Actually that makes a lot of sense, thank you for bringing that up. I will figure something out."

I called The Gorilla to drive me to a popular coffee shop called Crest Café before I even dialed Chloe. I had a good feeling that she wouldn't want to come with me but gaging how she reacted to me after I invited her to the gala and talked to her on the phone a couple days ago, I assured myself I could change her mind.

Chloe picked up the phone and I purposefully made the conversation mercifully brief, "Chloe, I need you to meet me at that coffee shop you always go to. This is really important."

Chloe seemed perplexed, "Wait is this Adrian? What is it? We can just talk over the phone."

"No Chloe." I insisted, "I am five minutes away right now, you'd better start moving or else I am going to be really disappointed you stood me up."

"Stood you up?" Chloe assumed her fiery attitude, "I didn't even agree to anything! You can't just say we're going somewhere and just expect me to follow along! I am really tired right now Adrian, can't we do this later?"

I ignored all of Chloe's complaints. It felt strange to hear myself sound so uncompromising but Chloe was extraordinarily stubborn. A passive approach wouldn't help her out of her situation. "I'll see you in five Chloe." I turned off my phone. As The Gorilla and I continued to drive I began to feel anxious. I should have done a better job of convincing Chloe, a couple minutes after the phone call I thought of dozen other things I could have said that would have worked better than what I actually said. I began to take deep breaths to help myself relax.

The next few minutes stretched into what felt like hours before The Gorilla eventually came to a full stop at the front of the coffee store. I stepped on to the sidewalk and an overwhelming feeling of relief swept over me when I saw that Chloe was walking towards me only a few meters away.

I opened my mouth to say hello but Chloe cut me off unleashing a torrent of abuse, "I am not going inside, I am only here to let you know that you're the biggest jerk I know! Let me guess, you called me out here because you want to know why Ladybug hates me so much and I don't know why! There might have been a few times that I was akumatized and became Anti-bug but I thought we were passed that okay!? I don't have anything to be sorry for, I never do anything wrong but people always want to say something bad about me but that's only because they're jealous you got that!?"

I walked quickly towards Chloe and gently rested my hands on her shoulders trying to calm her down. "Hey, can you relax for a second? I didn't want to hang out just so I could interrogate you, sheesh."

Chloe put a hand on my chest, trying to push me away, "Yeah? Why else would you call me out here?" Chloe asked as she turned to notice that practically everyone in the coffee shop was staring at her through the glass.

I let go of Chloe's shoulders and took several steps back, respecting Chloe's space, "I was just worried about you." I said honestly.

Chloe was disarmed. It was like she had rehearsed an entire argument in her mind only to have me go off-script and throw her off of her mental balance. "Oh. That's um." Chloe evaded my eyes as she backed down from her adversarial tone, "Thanks but I am fine, there isn't anything to worry about."

I walked towards the front door of Crest Café and opened it for Chloe, "Come on, I'll buy." I said to entice Chloe.

"Yeah whatever." Chloe said as she strutted through the open door, "My dad pays everything for me anyways."

While this place was a second home to someone like Chloe, it was new to me. The atmosphere of Crest Café felt cozy. The walls and floor tiles were colorful and cheery. A calming jazz melody set the scene, complementing the distinct smell of coffee that flowed throughout the building. The customers were more conscientious when it came to gawking at Chloe as most of them had already returned to their previous conversations.

Chloe quickly ran up to the barista to order her drink, "I need a vanilla bean Frappuccino. My name is Sabrina by the way. You can just call me when it's done."

I scratched the back of my head as I heard Chloe give the barista her fake name. It looked like her attempt didn't fool the cashier either as she looked at Chloe with an unconvinced gaze "I am sorry but your name is _definitely_ not Sabrina." The cashier said as she wrote the name "Chloe B." on her cup.

Embarrassed, Chloe scurried over to a table as I ordered an Americano. I took my time paying for the drinks before making my way over to Chloe. "So." Chloe said, beginning the conversation, "What was this emergency you were talking about over the phone?"

"I wanted to know about Cat Noir." I said sitting back in my chair, "You said you saw him right? Was he cool or what?"

"Seriously?" Chloe said, bothered by the trivial question. "He wasn't bad I guess, but Queen Bee was the real deal. She was the coolest, she even figured out that the villain would try to attack after his metronome swung four times and totally showed him up. It was awesome."

It irked me that Chloe couldn't even give me credit for my own ideas when she told them back to me, but seeing her gush about Queen Bee put a smile on my face. "You know, you're pretty lucky to see them in action. Here I thought Ladybug was everyone's favorite hero but now after hearing you talk, I think Queen Bee takes my number one spot."

Chloe's face turned a pink color, "Oh, you don't say?" She said, clearly reacting to my statement, "Yeah, I guess she's mine too."

"That's a face I haven't seen in a while." I said, shifting my body forward to engage with Chloe better. "Reminds me when you asked me if I thought of you as a girl."

Chloe looked even more awkward, "What!? I don't remember saying anything like that!"

"Really? You don't? We were either four or five and it was right after I ran into those guys from the neighborhood."

I began to recount the events for Chloe and found myself getting lost in my own nostalgia. I remember feeling so happy back in those warm summer days. My mother worked full time as an actress and my father was designing clothes but they spent just enough time with me to make me feel more loved than anyone I could think of.

I would get picked on a lot for standing out so much. I was an only child who was homeschooled and everyone around the neighborhood was well-aware of my wealthy parents. The name "Agreste" never felt like a burden to me though. I always assumed jealousy came with the territory.

"Look at him! He thought he was so much better than us, but I bet that isn't what he's thinking now!" I heard as I slowly backed away from three boys several years older than me.

"I never thought that, I don't even know any of your names!" I begged, "I just want to go home."

In the distance I could hear the familiar voice of Chloe Bourgeois call out to the three bullies, "I guess you three didn't learn anything after I called your parents last time! Leave Adrian alone or else!"

The aggressors scoffed at Chloe and began to walk off, "Great, looks like the rich kid has to get saved by his boyfriend." I heard one of them say, "I can't believe he has to have a girl defend him, he's totally lame."

Chloe came running towards me. She didn't look too much different than she did now. She wore a small blue skirt that matched with the bow she wore with her yellow dress shirt. Chloe wore her hair in pigtails, held in place by white ribbon. "Are you okay Adrikins?" she asked frantically.

I gave Chloe a thumbs-up, "I am now thanks to you. You're the best friend ever Chloe!" It was unbelievable that my only friend would come to my rescue when I needed her the most. I didn't know _anyone_ else my age besides Chloe.

The young Chloe light up with excitement after hearing my compliment, "It was nothing! I don't even know why anyone would want to be mean to you Adrikins, you're too nice."

I shrugged, "Maybe it's because I am super lucky when it comes to everything. I really like my mom and dad, I get really lucky when I try to learn things and I have a great friend like you! I think some of them don't get as lucky as me so they get all wacky when they see me."

Chloe put on a wide smile, "See!? This is what I am talking about! You're even nice to the people who don't deserve it!" Chloe said cheerily. "I wish I was more like you."

The last sentence that Chloe said sounded disjointed from the previous ones. I remember thinking she sounded sad. "Hey, what's wrong Chloe?"

Chloe moved to feet to rock herself back and forth, "Well, you heard what those boys said right?" she asked timidly.

"What did they say?" I started to think about all the things the bullies had said to me, completely unaware of the comments they made towards Chloe.

"Well…" Chloe was so shy while talking she had to look ninety degrees away from me to get the words out, "T-they called me your b-boyfriend." She stammered.

"Huh? Well that doesn't make any sense. You're a girl."

"I know that but… I don't know!" Chloe blurted out, "I think girls are supposed to be more gentle and more nice than I am. I am more courageous and tough but those are boy things." She said in despair.

"I think you're the best type of girl Chloe." I said as she turned back towards me to see my cheerful expression, "You're the sort of girl who is gentle, nice, courageous, and tough all at the same time, you're amazing!"

A pink color made its way into Chloe's cheeks. My response had made her even more uncomfortable, "You're just saying that, you don't really mean it."

"I do mean it." I said taking a step towards Chloe, "I'll prove it to you!" I leaned in and gave Chloe a peck on her cheek, "There. That makes you the first girl I ever kissed. See?"

Chloe reached up and felt her cheek, at first she looked like she was beginning to get emotional only to close her eyes and take on the classic Chloe persona I would come to know for years to come. "I guess you really are lucky after all Adrikins! Your first kiss was with a princess like me!"

At this point in the story Chloe and I burst into a fit of laughter into the coffee shop. I was pulled out of my past life and brought back into the present.

"I can't believe you couldn't stand up to those boys but you were daring enough to kiss me! You were a brave boy back then Adrikins!" Chloe said, throwing her head back to laugh even more.

I looked around the Café and noticed that other people were chuckling along with us. Their attention had been on Chloe the entire time as Nathalie predicted. When I told my story everyone started to see who Chloe really was. A gentle, nice, courageous and tough girl who was way too self-conscious. Of course she'd never let you think that though, she'd sooner call you a name than let you call her fragile.

"You were definitely more brave, I don't know what would have happened if you didn't show up that day!" I said excitedly.

Chloe stopped laughing and lazily melted in her chair, "Yep, I wonder what happened to that Chloe." She stated in the third person.

I began to talk in a superstitious tone of voice, "You know… if you believe the stories, they say she comes to this very café to drink ice cream."

Chloe exploded in playful banter, "This is a Frappuccino! Not ice cream you jerk!"

"I am sorry, I guess I just can't tell the difference!" I joked.

Chloe sighed, she was still smiling but seemed to get more serious, "I mean it Adrian. My dad got super mad at me after last night. He ended up grounding me."

"Huh?" I asked scrunching my face, "If you're grounded than how can you be out here with me?"

"Oh, well I am grounded when I get back home, he lets me go out with friends, go to the mall, and of course go to school but at all other times he said I have to be grounded."

I was shocked that even in his punishments, Chloe's dad ended up spoiling her. After several moments I allowed Chloe to continue.

"I know I said this a long time ago, but I am serious now, I want to be more like you Adrian. I want people to treat me like the same way they treat you. Can you help show me how to do that?"


	9. Chapter 9: Important Steps

Several days passed since I went out with Chloe. Hawkmoth continued to akumatize a supervillain each day and Ladybug had stopped calling me when they showed up. I would watch the news in the evening to see her take down each villain without any problems. I should have been happy; Paris was safe after all, and there was plenty for me to do when it came to my real life. Nathalie would always remind me that I needed to stay in her sight if I wanted to attend school next year. This made it even more difficult for me when I saw Marechal continue to show up on the television to talk about the mysterious absence of Cat Noir. Each time I saw him I felt visceral memories of him denouncing Chloe and I. He may have been handsome and articulate but I could see a wickedness behind his eyes.

Then there was Chloe. She seemed to feel a lot better after we left the coffee shop but she would always bother me about how I managed to get people to like me. Ever since I reminded Chloe of her past she seemed completely fixated on changing herself. All of my classmates would disagree with me, but I didn't think Chloe really needed to change much at all. "Chloe, you should just try treating everyone like you do me." I would try to say, but Chloe would start acting all weird, trying to make up excuses as to why she couldn't do that. It seemed strange. She would tout how everyone loved her in practically every conversation Chloe and I had. Perhaps she just wanted to have a few more friends.

I showed up on Monday and the entire school was set ablaze with gossip. A few people apparently saw me in Crest Café with Chloe and began to spread it around the entire school. I couldn't help myself from eavesdropping on the other students as they discussed why I still insisted on keeping Chloe as a friend after hearing what Ladybug said about her. I did my best to ignore them but it was hard to think positive thoughts without Nino to keep me company. I wondered what he would say right now.

"Hey bro! Why are you lookin' so down dude? Is something with your dad again?" An imaginary Nino asked me.

"Ah it's nothing Nino, just trying to act normal while pretending everyone around me isn't talking about me. You know how it goes."

"Dude, try to imagine if Chloe was all by herself. She'd probably feel a hundred times worse man. It's cool that you stuck by her and didn't just totally drop her like a rock."

I reassured myself for the time being but as I sat in the classroom and glanced at the empty seat to my left I felt dejected. School turned from my own personal Shangri-La to a dull routine as my teacher stood in front of the class to give her lecture. I idly turned towards Chloe and Sabrina who both sat across the aisle from me. Chloe had her phone in her lap, surfing the web for the duration of the class. Meanwhile, Sabrina was sitting with an upright posture. She had no notes out on her desk but she reciprocated every fact and every detail with an understanding nod. Could she actually be keeping up with the material without taking any notes?

The bell rang and just as I was getting ready to leave, a conversation between Chloe and Sabrina piqued my interest.

An enthusiastic Sabrina was nearly jumping up and down as she spoke, "Alright Chloe, I am going to do all of our homework for the next week or so, that way you will have a good head start to do whatever you want!"

I could hear Chloe's words echo from yesterday, humbly asking me how to get people to treat her better. Time to see if she really meant it. I unapologetically wedged myself into their exchange, "I am sorry about this Sabrina, but Chloe already arranged for me and her to finish our homework a few days from now. It's a real shame, but it looks like you are just going to focus on your own work."

Chloe glared daggers at me. Homework may as well have been a disease to Chloe. At a certain point though, even she had to recognize it was wrong to manipulate Sabrina into doing all of her work for her. "Oh, yeah. That's right." Chloe spoke between clenched teeth. "I forgot all about that study session."

Sabrina looked petrified, "What!? You don't want me to do your homework? Is this because you don't like me anymore Chloe? I already told you I will do whatever you want! You name it! Anything as long as we're friends!"

Chloe rubbed the back of her neck as Sabrina spoke. "No, no, it's nothing like that. It's just that I- well. Sabrina, I think it's time you stop doing my homework for me for good."

Sabrina was beginning to physically contort from Chloe's words.

Chloe quickly reacted, "Not because you're not smart or anything! I know you are! The only reason I even passed last year was all because of you. I just think maybe instead of doing favors for each other, maybe we can just a girls night out. I saw a new moving coming out that I thought you might like, the one about the astronaut?"

Sabrina's mouth dropped, "The Neil Armstrong movie!? I've been waiting for that movie for I don't know how-" Sabrina rubbed her eyes and her voice began to become frail, "Sorry, I think I am going to cry."

Chloe, clearly not interested in spending the next half hour calming Sabrina down began to push her out the door. She spoke incredibly quickly, "Alright. Cool. Thanks. I'll see you tomorrow then. You go on ahead, I just have a couple more things to talk to Adrian about, okay? Okay. See you tomorrow."

I smiled at Chloe as she forcibly pushed Sabrina out of the classroom, "You know, that was a really good thing you did for Sabrina. I am proud of you Chloe."

Chloe stuck her index finger centimeters away from my face, "You'd better help me with our homework Adrikins!" she threatened.

I held my hands up in surrender, "Alright, alright, I'll come over Wednesday and we can work through it together."

Fearfully Chloe repeated, "Wednesday?" she blinked, "I can do homework on Wednesday." She said, almost as if she were convincing herself.

"Take it easy Chloe, it's just a couple hours of work, it isn't going to be bad at all." I said supportively.

"A couple… Hours!?" Chloe panted. "And you're sure people will like me more if I do all of it?"

I made an affirming gesture, "It's an important first step."

Chloe and I went our different ways after we made arrangements to study together. I smirked as I walked down the hallways. I always knew that Chloe could be kind, she just needed to choose to show the world that side of her. I was unsure if she fully recovered from Ladybug's outburst, but whether or not she'd like to admit it, I thought it gave her a new outlook on the people she cared about.

The day drifted by. I wanted to go see if I could transform into Cat Noir but Nathalie went out of her way to keep a tight leash on me. The minute I was done with fencing practice The Gorilla was already dialing Nathalie, about to tell her that I showed up late. It got even worse when she sat in the same room as me while I practiced the piano. She went as far as staring at me the entire time I was playing. It may be a weird way of expressing it, but Nathalie wanted me to keep going to public school. She knew she couldn't speak out of turn to my father, but she could make sure I felt the urgency of obeying his rules.

After my piano lessons I was finished with all of my extracurricular activities. I was now free to go up to my room. Plagg emerged from my backpack breathing in fresh air for the first time since this morning, "Ah! That's more like it! I have to say Adrian, even someone like you must admit this small break from superhero work is nice."

I pulled out my laptop, a notebook and a pen and readily placed each of them on my desk, "Who said anything about taking a break?" I asked as I began to click open several web pages.

"Adrian, Ladybug stopped calling you when she runs into supervillains and you don't have time to go out and patrol the city when your father knows exactly where you are." Plagg recapped for me.

I shook my head, "Maybe not Plagg but there are too many unanswered questions for me to leave things as they are. For one, why has Hawkmoth been in such a rush lately? It's been a week straight and every single day he's found someone to akumatize."

"Oh yeah!" Plagg squeaked as he caught on, "The villains lately haven't felt as tough as they normally do but Ladybug is spreading herself thin making time to de-evilize all of them."

"I think that's why she's been acting so peculiar, she's just exhausted, and that brings us to the next piece of the puzzle: Marechal Moulin." I opened up a biography of the man in question and began to write down every fact I could find.

Plagg began to fume, "I can't stand that guy! What's his deal anyways?"

"That's just the thing Plagg." I said, giving my hand a rest from scribbling, "Ladybug is desperate to find someone to handle the sheer amount of supervillains. Moulin is an adult who seems to be extremely capable. He even knows about the miraculous which is very odd. The information on kwami are out there, even my dad has a book on them, but someone would need to go out of their way in order to find information though."

Plagg scratched the top of his head, "Yeah! Hey! That's right… How does that help us though?"

I returned to my research, "All the major media outlets are pushing him as the person who deserves to be Cat Noir the most. They always put him in the best possible light and downplay us as much as possible."

"Are you sure Adrian? I think the news is a little unfair, but they used to love you and Ladybug." Plagg acknowledged.

"Plagg, do you remember when they showed that footage of Ladybug yelling at Chloe? If there were cameras at the gala, couldn't they rewind far enough to know that it was us and Queen Bee who got the akuma?"

Plagg drew a sharp breath as he came to the same conclusion that I had.

"They either must have consciously decided to ignore what actually happened or someone tampered with the footage. It's pretty likely the answer is both." I determined.

"Who knew you'd be so good at detective work Adrian?" Plagg cooed.

I offered Plagg a smile, "There is a reason they call us Cat _Noir_ you know." I turned back to face the light emitting from my laptop, "I just don't get it though. Did Hawkmoth's whole plan hinge on me willingly give up my miraculous to Moulin? It seems pretty obvious that plan wouldn't work."

Plagg waved his hand in front of his face, "This is Hawkmoth we're talking about. He's tried to get your miraculous for how long now? He must be running out of ideas."

I tapped my pen against my notebook in thought, "I just don't think he'd put in so much energy into such a risk. I can't help but feel that Hawkmoth has some sort of endgame with this that I'm not seeing."

Plagg floated over to sit on my shoulder, "I think this is why you were chosen to hold the miraculous Adrian. You could have taken Ladybug's advice and given the superhero gig a break but instead you're still doing everything you can to save the day."

I smiled as I continued to work. Hearing Plagg's words motivated me to keep up my investigation. This was the first time since fighting Show Stopper that let me get the rush of being a hero. I was going to figure out everything that was going on and I along with Ladybug, Rena Rouge, and Queen Bee would set things all back to normal.


	10. Chapter 10: Strange Feelings

His name was Marechal Mason Moulin.

Even after hours of scouring the web, he sounded more like a force of nature than an actual human being. He was revered for his service to the French army, he was fiendishly handsome, made evident by his cover appearances on nearly a dozen different magazines and his ambition was infectious. He had put a tremendous amount of time and effort into his image and as a reward he could garner attention from the most influential people in France.

I had to dig deep in order to find any dissenting opinions on the war hero, but underneath the generic praise, I could see through his cracks. Ever since he had been honorably discharged he has had trouble working with other people. His own notoriety would get in the way of empathizing with others and would act coldly towards anyone he thought was beneath him. Several people rightly pointed out his unacceptable behavior at the gala but none could provide any concrete evidence.

This was all that I had managed to find before I woke up with my head on my laptop keyboard. I spent most of the night searching and my suspicions ate away at until Chloe reminded me of our study session. I had forgotten all about it until she made a last minute decision to meet at the public library instead of at her house.

I was appreciative for the change. The public library had received less and less use as the years passed by so Chloe and I got to have an entire table all to ourselves with a large window giving us sunlight as we began to work.

"So, how do you do this one?" It was the very first question and Chloe was already trying to get me to do her work for her.

"You can't even figure that one out? It's so easy though, just think about it. The perimeter of a 6x12 rectangle? Come on Chloe, I am sure you know this." I had to be extremely careful with how I phrased my words. I only wanted to push her to figure out the problems herself, not to completely discourage her from even trying.

"Give me that!" Chloe snatched her worksheet back and scanned the question over and over again, "Is it 18? Is that the right answer?"

Yikes. It would be hard to think that Chloe and I were even in the same class with how behind she was with the material. "Well that's two sides of the rectangle, you just need two more." I said trying to walk Chloe closer towards the answer.

"36! See, I knew that. You're right, that was an easy question. I didn't need help with that at all!" Chloe flaunted.

As far behind as she was, Chloe moved on to the next question immediately. The minute I tied her reputation to her schoolwork she became a lot more invested into it. She tried to solve each problem independently so that she wouldn't have to ask me for any help. This of course didn't work. On her own, Chloe would have gotten every single question wrong in every single subject but she came to study with me in spite of knowing that. She was afraid to be seen as vulnerable and helpless against the homework she had neglected doing for years. She was putting herself through all of this strain for Sabrina's sake. Her determination to change amazed me.

What should have been a few hours of work turned into a long slog for the entire rest of the day. Chloe collapsed her upper-body on the table after we finally managed to finish all of it. She looked as if the experience had slowly withered away her inner-self. "We're done right? Please tell me we're finished Adrikins."

My attention was sidetracked as I saw a short and boney man with round glasses approaching our table, "Yeah I think that was all we had to do this week." I said with my attention still focused on the person walking towards us.

"Good evening, sorry to bother you, I was going to say something earlier but you two are Chloe and Adrian, am I right?" he said in a soft voice.

Chloe warily lifted her head to view the stranger while I replied, "That's right, is something the matter?"

"I am Dany Chapuis, I am a concert pianist and I was told that you two went through quite a lot to stand up for me several nights ago at the gala event." He said as he folded the corners of his lips into a smile.

My eyebrows raised themselves in surprise. This was the piano player from the gala? He must have known it was Queen Bee and I that saved him from Hawkmoth. "I appreciate you saying that but it was really all Chloe. She was the one who spoke up to Marechal."

Chloe was startled, "Huh? I mean… I guess?"

The pianist bowed his head slightly, "I am so sorry, if I had just played correctly, I wouldn't have gotten akumatized and Ladybug wouldn't have said those awful things about you Miss. I am glad I saved these two." The thin man handed Chloe two tickets, "This is to my next performance, I wish I could have gotten more tickets so you two could bring your friends but I couldn't reserve any more. The show is completely sold out, if you'd be at all interested I'll be performing at the concert hall."

"Uh, of course we're interested! We'll be there tomorrow!" Chloe said blatantly.

"I will leave you be then, have fun with your school work and I will be sure to play my best for you two." The pianist nodded his head happily and walked out of the library.

Chloe seemed ecstatic when she turned to face me, "I can't believe it Adrian. It was the same guy from the gala!"

I smiled along with Chloe, "I am so happy to hear that his show got sold out, sounds like the gala didn't set him back at all."

"Oh no!" Chloe cried as she reached her hands up to hold the top of her head, "I completely forgot, can you go tomorrow night? I know your dad doesn't want you to go out too much!"

I swallowed. I knew Chloe would need to know eventually, "Listen, don't get upset but I snuck out today in order to study with you." I braced myself for Chloe's reaction.

"Adrian! You said you would try your hardest to come to school next year! Why would you want to give all of that up for something as small as helping me study?" Chloe huffed.

I looked up at the ceiling and calmly started to explain, "Look Chloe, I have no idea whether or not my father will reward my good behavior. Nathalie just suggested that I try to follow his rules to change his mind. As soon as I heard that he was giving me one last year at school I knew he wouldn't turn back. No matter what I do I am going to end up being homeschooled. I want to spend the little time I have left with people I care about." I smirked, "Also seeing you do your own homework? That's not something small, in fact I think we should get the whole city together to throw a celebration." I said in an attempt to lighten to mood.

"Hey!" Chloe said, beginning to protest my last comment before returning to the bigger picture, "So, are you really okay with things going back to the way they were? Last year after what happened, I missed you a lot."

A silence fell between us. I knew exactly what Chloe meant, although she didn't explicitly state it nothing was the same after my mother's funeral. A body wasn't found so instead we buried all sorts of different things that were important to her. Many people were in attendance, all dressed in black. Some were famous actors and actresses she worked with while others were simple acquaintances such as a woman who owned a flower store my mother frequented. They all came to grieve for her, all except for Chloe. While she saw her from time to time, Chloe didn't know Emilie Agreste like these other people did. She only came because she was worried how I would react.

How did I react? I didn't say a word when my father told me to stay in sight and allow Nathalie to take care of all my personal matters. I didn't object back then to being kept from the rest of the world and so I things stayed that way. My isolation hurt me as much as it did Chloe. I understand my emotions well but I remember a time when I used to be more openly emotional and affectionate. If I never went to a public school I probably would have turned completely cold.

Chloe never did tell me how she felt towards her parents and especially her mother but anyone who could read in between the lines would know that she didn't receive the attention she needed. After I stopped seeing Chloe, she looked for that attention in other places. She'd look down on anyone who would let her. Constantly talking herself up to be the queen of her own reality. Most people thought she was insufferable, but when I returned to school to see her again I could see she was hurt.

Her background is what made her metamorphosis so extraordinary. She pushed everything holding her back aside and began to change. She thanked me for inviting her to the gala, she stood up for the piano player, and she took Sabrina to a movie she always wanted to see. Hearing her so disappointed that I would be absent from Collège Françoise Dupont made me feel terrible on the inside.

"Don't worry Chloe, it won't be anything like last time. We might not go to the same school but I am not going to stay home all day. I'll make time to come and see you. By the looks of things you are going to need help with your homework for a while."

Chloe looked at me with a bitter sweet expression, "Okay, this means you are going to sneak out again tomorrow though, right? We really should catch the concert after that guy got us the tickets for free."

I moved my head up and down, "Yeah. I am sure it'll be great."

The conversation was difficult to maintain as Chloe and I both left for home. The Gorilla scowled at me when I first saw him. I knew I crossed a line but I simply couldn't help myself. As I drove home Chloe was all I was able to think about. How she was slowly changing. How we still managed to be friends even after all of this time. How I disappointed her.

I explained why I ran off to Nathalie and how I would do so again tomorrow night in order to visit the pianist's show. Nathalie didn't get angry with me, she merely shook her head and stated that she would bring all of it up to my father after he had a moment. I had not seen my father for days now, his work completely consumed him and he could only speak through Nathalie. It looked like I wouldn't be punished at least for one more night.

I sat in the living room and out of my pocket I pulled out my cellphone. It was time to talk to Nino, he couldn't solve my problems but he always made me feel better about them. After several rings he picked up.

"Adrian! Where were you man? I've been calling you all day dude!"

As I heard Nino's voice I began to smile, it had been too long since we talked, "Hey Nino, sorry there has been a lot on my mind. Too much to think about."

"I bet dude!" Nino remarked, "I saw what Ladybug said about Chloe, and then I saw that one dude try to take credit for Cat Noir and Queen Bee, so messed up! And then I saw that Chloe's dad had to take a two week vacation just to get away from all the people bothering him!"

"Wait a minute, Chloe's dad isn't in town? So then she's been by herself this entire time?" That's why she wanted to go to the library instead of studying at her house.

"Chloe didn't go with her dad? That's weird man…" Nino said in a concerned voice, "Are you sure you've seen her around?"

"I am positive Nino, we're going to a concert tomorrow night." I assured him.

"A concert! Bro! You said you were just friends before I left, what happened? Don't even try to deny that you're making moves out there dude." Nino began to ramp up his enthusiasm as he continued to talk.

I delayed my response. I knew I wasn't trying to 'make moves' but ever since seeing Chloe at the library something happened. A weird, complicated, slew of feelings raged inside of me. We worked on homework, met the pianist from the gala, and then went home. Nothing strange or out of the ordinary, right? I remembered all of my past experiences with Chloe, since we were very young to the time we spent together over the last several days. I remembered Nathalie's ultimatum. That it would be my last chance to enjoy a regular life at a public school. I started to feel anxiety. My moments with Chloe were fleeting. I could try harder to see her like I did before, but my life was about to change once again. Why was it so important that I was going to miss Chloe though? I was still going to miss Nino and everyone else at school, but why was I so fixated on her?

"I am not really sure Nino… I think…" I took a deep breath, "I think I am starting to like her."


	11. Chapter 11: One Last Chance

"Whoa… I did not expect you to say that dude." I could hear Nino say through the phone.

"I didn't either." I admitted, "This is all happening too fast but I can't stop thinking about her Nino, ever since I saw her today."

"Well it's simple, why don't you talk to her about it? You sound a little mixed up now but I am sure a little chat with Chloe can clear it up for sure." Nino suggested.

"That's good advice but things are more complex than that." This was it. I had regretted not telling him before and I really wanted his help, I had to come clean. "Nino, this will be my last year at school. I didn't tell you earlier because you were really excited about your break and I didn't want you to worry about me."

"Man, seriously? It's your dad isn't it? You can't let him do this to you bro, think about everyone you've met at school, you can't just leave them high and dry."

"Nino I can't." I said in a harsher tone than I intended, "He can't help it, I am always running off somewhere or another, he doesn't trust me at all. He let me go to public school this year and I've let him down too many times." I said in melancholy.

"Why do you always take off when your dad tries to put you in one place?"

I responded with silence. As much as I wanted to yell out that I was Cat Noir and that I needed to take off to save Paris, the real answer was that I was just self-centered. When Plagg and I transformed, I felt so free and unrestricted by my normal life. As soon as I didn't have an excuse to turn into Cat Noir I ended up sneaking out to study with Chloe. It was all my fault.

"I'll answer that for you dude." Nino said to reassure me, "It's totally unfair. Anyone in your shoes would be doing the same thing, actually, I am pretty sure I would have peaced out way more than you have. It's like your dad doesn't even know how much pressure you're putting on yourself for him."

These days my father knew hardly anything about me other than off-comments Nathalie dropped him. I rarely got to see him but I still knew he cared a lot about me. Managing the _Gabriel_ brand must be putting a huge stress on him.

Nino was absolutely right but I hadn't dared give myself hope. I wanted to protect my future self from the crushing disappointment he'd face after hoping things could be different. "I can try talking to him but I really don't think I'll be able to change much."

"Dang it Adrian! Why can't you just get mad for a change bro? I have to go, but I am going to call you back as soon as I can. Pick up next time, alright?" Nino was distraught on my behalf.

"Will do Nino. Thanks for talking with me, school has been lonely without you." I added.

"Take care of yourself dude. Later."

Nino hung up and I walked up to my bedroom. I called Nino to help me calm down but I ended up becoming more worked up. All of my friends were about to be pulled out from under me and I couldn't find a way out. I turned on my tv only to turn it off instantly as soon as I saw Marechal Moulin still talking on the news. Day by day it looked like I had been losing both sides of myself. If Cat Noir disappeared from Paris and Adrian disappeared from Dupont, what would be left?

I had trouble sleeping. I couldn't tell if it was because of how much I still had to think about or if it was just the light coming from the Eiffel Tower again. After much tossing and turning, I fell asleep to wake up for school the next morning.

Ironically, in spite of the interest I was starting to take in her, the rumors about Chloe and I began to die down. A couple of days was all it took for people to move on to the next gossip. From what I overheard Alya was beginning to miss Nino enough to spark an emotional response from the rest of the school. I smirked as I sat down at my seat. I was sure to give Nino a hard time about the rumored crush, the same way he did for Chloe and me.

Chloe started acting strange. I could see her staring right at me in my peripheral vision but as soon as I turned to face her she quickly looked away, pretending she didn't do anything at all. At least she had her phone put away today. With any luck she might blossom into a good student.

After class ended Chloe and I had a brief exchange.

"Are you sure you're okay to go out tonight Adrikins? I don't want you to get in trouble again since I sort of had plans for the rest of our last school year together." Chloe emphasized.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world Chloe." I answered. "Have you been doing okay? I heard from Nino that your father went out of town and I know you don't do the best job when it comes to taking care of yourself."

Chloe started to get defensive, "I am doing just fine, you don't need to-"halfway through her sentence she decided not to rant, "Yeah, I am okay. Thanks for worrying about me."

"Who are you and what did you do with Chloe?" I said with a small chuckle.

"Oh shut up you jerk. You would sound cooler if you just said something like, 'Anything for you.' Or something." Chloe retorted.

"I'll see you tonight Chloe."

Chloe echoed what Nino said the night before, "Yeah, just take care of yourself for me okay? You don't have to go to the concert if your dad makes it hard for you."

Chloe and I went our separate ways and outside I could see it beginning to rain. I dreaded returning home. Father was probably going to do everything in his power to keep me from going to the concert with Chloe. Why did I even mention it to Nathalie? If I any sense I would have simply have left my room through my window like always.

In time, I came home only to sit face to face with Nathalie. Her cold and distant expression was always so difficult to read. "Adrian, I spoke with your father, he wanted me to show you this." Nathalie presented me with a tablet screen and a video of my father.

"He really couldn't come downstairs himself, could he?" I asked in dismay.

"Just listen to what your father has to say." Nathalie said impatiently.

I pressed play on the video and I saw my father begin to speak, his black framed glasses did little to hide the disappointment in his blue eyes. "Adrian, I hope you understand that I am only tried to take you out of school for your own good. I only ask that I know that you are safe and taken care of but you insist on making that more and more difficult for me." My father took a deep breath. I saw this coming. There was only so many times I could say sorry and then run away a day later. What he said next shocked me, "With that out of the way, I am giving you one last chance to prove that you can stay at public school." My chest pounded in anticipation. "Only because Nathalie convinced me otherwise, I will allow you to go with her to this concert. You are allowed to arrive there, enjoy the show and then immediately leave without a _single_ deviation. After tonight I expect you to do as you are told until the end of your school year. If you can manage that, I will allow you to continue going to school. Now, you should hurry up. You don't want to keep the girl waiting." Father maintained a stern look throughout the entire message, ending it without as much as a smile.

"I can't believe it." I marveled, "Father is actually going to let me stay!"

"There is something else Adrian." Nathalie mentioned before pointing towards the coat rack on the other side of the living room. It was the suit that my father had made for me. It was in perfect condition. "It took an absorbent amount of time, but I managed to get all of the stains out of it."

I ran up to Nathalie to hug her, "Thank you so much! I don't even know what to say, I can't believe you've done all of this for me!"

Nathalie looked uncomfortable as she began to blush. Awkwardly allowing herself to be taken into my embrace, "Um. Yes. You are very welcome Adrian… As your father said, you really should get going though…"

To her relief I let go of Nathalie to begin putting on my freshly clean suit. I felt empowered as I wore the white jacket while I straightened the red tie. I looked outside and even the thundering rain could not stop my elation. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to attend the concert, but now I had the chance to stay in school with Chloe, Nino and all of my friends.

The drive to the concert was fast. I had planned on arriving on foot but now with my Father's approval, The Gorilla was happy to drive me. Fat, wet rain pounded on the car windows as I watched the buildings pass by. Soon enough, I stepped outside to greet Chloe, she was shivering in a long white dress which did a poor job of covering her dainty figure. As I walked closer I noticed her hair was curled and her fingernails were painted with a light shade of red matching her lipstick. She tried harder to dress up tonight than she did for the gala.

"Chloe, are you okay being out here in the rain dress like that?" I moved towards her, allowing us to huddle together underneath the umbrella.

Chloe's teeth began to chatter, "S-s-shut up! I w-w-wanted to look c-c-cute tonight!"

I put my arm around Chloe, trying to warm her up, "Let's get you inside. You'll catch a cold out here."

Chloe and I walked into the music theatre and found our seats without any problems. Thankfully the packed venue provided plenty of heat for color to start returning to Chloe's face. "So Adrikins." Chloe said leaning against my shoulder, "How do I look tonight?"

I chose not to give Chloe the compliment she desperately wanted, "You looked pretty cold. I am surprised you walked so far in a dress in the freezing rain." I said with a smirk on my face.

"Oh don't give me that!" Chloe complained, "You had your eyes all over me after you stepped out of your car!"

I spread myself out in my chair, "If you already knew how I felt about it why did you ask?" I teased.

Chloe began to pout and folded her arms across her chest, "You always complain about how I never compliment anyone else, how about throwing some my way for a change?"

Chloe and I began to laugh together. We had so many of these ridiculous moments and I remembered that I would still be having them next year as well. "Hey Chloe, I heard back from my father today, and he said if I came straight home after this concert he'd let me come back to school next year."

Chloe's reaction did not disappoint. She threw both of her hands flat across her mouth and moved away from me in shock, "No way! If this is a joke, it isn't funny Adrian!"

I shook my head with a smile on my face, "No joke, we get to enjoy this tonight and I'll be at school next year too."

"Adrian, that makes me really happy. These last few days have been incredible, I mean, really. Way more fun than hanging around the bunch of nobodies, I mean- the other people I spend time with." Chloe said, catching herself.

The happy moment we were just in was about to become short lived. Dany Chapuis, the pianist came on to the stage with a horrified look on his face. "Everyone! Get out of here! Evacuate the building! There has been an Akuma attack!" Right after the piano player gave us his warning, the stage behind him cracked open and the roof was torn off by a gigantic man standing nearly fifty feet tall. He wore a red hoodie and dark blue jeans, large enough to fit his gigantic size.

"No one can look down at me now. I am larger than life itself. I am Man-Mountain!" He thundered as he began to crush the stage underneath his heel.

People ran in all directions and Chloe was quick to join then, "Adrian! I have to go, I'll see you in a bit!" she yelled as she ran off.

I felt a vibration in my pocket and pulled out my phone to see that Nathalie was calling me. I picked up the phone and started to run. "Adrian, come to the street corner this instant. The Gorilla is there waiting for you, it's too dangerous for you to stay where you are."

I bit my tongue. I had to come up with some sort of excuse as to why I couldn't make it, "I can't Nathalie I am trapped in the debris. I am going to head towards the underground subway." I lied.

For the first time in my life I heard Nathalie raise her voice, "Adrian! I am tracking your phone right now, I can _see_ you moving. The subway was closed down as soon as the giant man started to attack going there is no good. Now stop this instant and come to the street corner now!"

I ran up to the upper-balcony of the theatre where everyone had evacuated. Seeing that it was safe, Plagg came out of my suit. "Adrian!" he cried, "Ladybug needs to talk to you!"

I grasped my phone with both hands as the akumatized giant continued to destroy the building around me. There was still time to make it to the street corner. I still had the chance to show up to school next year and welcome Nino back from his long vacation. I still had the chance to go out on dates with Chloe and live a normal life. I had the opportunity to go home and leave this whole mess behind me.

I whispered into my phone, "I am sorry." I threw my device down on the ground. I wasn't chosen to hold the miraculous to take the easy way out in hard situations. I needed to stop this villain.

"Plagg! Claws out!" I yelled as the kwami was sucked into my ring.

Immediately I looked down at my finger to see Ladybug's face appear, "Cat Noir, I wanted to talk to you for a few days now, but I think I made a horrible mistake. I don't know what I was thinking when I said-"

The entire build was beginning to collapse. As much as I enjoyed hearing Ladybug's voice again, I needed to get moving, "Ladybug! We'll do this later! Come to the music theatre, it's a supervillain!" I yelled over the roar of the wooden stage being snapped like a twig.

"A villain!? I am on the other side of town, you'll be on your own for a while but I am coming Cat Noir!" I heard Ladybug say as I dodged parts of the roof that were now crashing down on the balcony.

I began to spin my magic staff over my head in order to fly out of the unstable music theatre and into the pouring rain once again. I landed on the sidewalk and civilians stopped running as they saw me.

"Hey! It's Cat Noir! He's here to save us!" one of the onlookers cried. "Queen Bee couldn't stop the big guy with her superpower, you have to help her Cat Noir!"

Her superpower? I looked up to see Queen Bee struggling inside of Man-Mountain's right hand. Her miraculous showed that she only had five minutes before she had to change back. I took a low stance. I needed to fight this supervillain all alone long enough for Ladybug to show up but short enough so Queen Bee doesn't reveal her identity to all of the civilians.

No pressure.


	12. Chapter 12: Under the Mask

The once ornately decorated concert hall was flattened and reduced to rubble by the gigantic supervillain, Man-Mountain. My hair was damp from the pouring rain. The sky was charcoal black and sent rain that seemed to splash against my leather suit from all angles.

I could hear Queen Bee from the grasp of the villain, "Hurry up and do something Cat Noir! I hate being near this creep!" She ordered.

Man-Mountain seemed confused by Queen Bee's whining. Before I could move out of sight, he turned to face me, "Hey! Hawkmoth said I needed your miraculous, how about we trade? This little blondie here." The man as tall as a building shook Chloe like a Maraca, "For your little ring you got down there?"

"For someone so tall, I didn't know you'd be the sort of person to short-change people!" I called up to the behemoth.

"Hey!" Queen Bee yelled, "I am not some bargaining chip! Hurry up and help me already Cat Noir!"

"I'm working on it!" I bickered.

Man-Mountain was not amused by the Queen and I's exchange, "It'll be hard to work when I am done with you!" he challenged as he began to run towards me.

I began to run down the road, I made large splashes of water with each step that I took. I dared not turn around, but I could hear Man-Mountain catching up to me. As fast as I was, a man who was fifteen meters tall had strides eight or nine times the length of mine. I needed a plan or else I'd end up living the rest of my life as a cat pancake.

"Cataclysm!"

I had one move left in my playbook. It was risky even though I was pretty familiar with this area of the city. I planted my hand on the ground and held it there long enough to destroy a larger amount of surface area. I waited until I heard Man-Mountain directly behind me before I rolled out of the way as the ground crumble beneath me. I remembered that Nathalie mentioned how the subway station was closed after the supervillain appeared. I had to go off of my knowledge but I pumped my fist when I saw that I had accurately used my superpower to open a hole in the ground to the subway tunnel.

The subway tunnel wasn't nearly big enough to trap a villain of Man-Mountain's size, but the hole I made was enough for him to lose his footing. He began to fall in slow motion as he flailed his arms helplessly as he moved through the air. I started to run towards a screaming Queen Bee who was still trapped in Man-Mountain's right hand. The titanic villain shook the earth as he connected with it. The giant has flexibly opened up his hand and Queen Bee rolled out, getting herself drenched head to toe in the process.

"Geez. This day couldn't get any worse." Queen Bee mumbled as I offered her my hand to help her stand up.

"Don't worry about anything, Ladybug is coming, we only need to hang on for a little longer." I said with genuine confidence.

The Man-Mountain was beginning to stand back up again, "That was a cool trick you did there Cat Noir… Too bad it'll only work once! You're helpless now!"

I turned towards Queen Bee and muttered with a low enough volume so that Man-Mountain wouldn't hear me, "You think you can spin your top around his legs and tangle him up in your drawstring?"

Queen Bee put her hands on her hips, "Yeah but it's going to be super obvious what I'm doing. I hope you have a way to get him to stand still for a while."

I shrugged my shoulders, "I have something we can try at least." I pulled out my magic staff and placed one end on the ground while I perched on the top of it, "I am going to distract him. You go for his legs."

Queen Bee nodded as I extended my staff so that I could speak to Main-Mountain at eye level. The giant's voice boomed as he spoke to me, "Have you given up? Are you ready to give me your miraculous?"

I shook my head, "Actually big guy, I was going to ask you about why you got your powers. You mentioned something back in the theatre about people looking down at you. Why did they do that?"

Hawkmoth's emblem appeared in front of Man-Mountain's face. He was probably furious that he was taking time in order to answer my question, "All my older siblings are a lot more successful than I am." He said bitterly, "We had a little family reunion at the theatre and all they did was tear me down. That's why I got rid of the whole theatre. I used to be nobody but as soon as I take your miraculous I'll prove everyone who doubted me wrong." Man-Mountain seethed.

I did my best to control the situation, "I know where you're coming from. On the news, people tell me how I am not very good at what I do, but that doesn't make me want to turn against my friends and the people I care about. You should try to smooth things over with your family before you end up hurting someone!" I begged the giant. It was true, I had never been able to convince an akumatized villain to stop attacking people but there was something about Man-Mountain that prompted me to try and help.

The supervillain lifted his massive hand and swatted my magic staff away out from under my feet, "You don't know anything about me, and don't pretend like you do!"

I started to fall. I didn't have my stick to break my fall so I reached out in desperation and latched on to Man-Mountain's baggy sweatshirt to stop my descent.

"What!? Get off of me!" Man-Mountain cried as he tried to grab me. I was barely avoiding his grasp as I quickly began to climb all around the giant. Holding on to fabric was difficult and my muscles were tingling with how much I had to exert myself to keep up my continuous movement. Regardless of my effort, it wasn't very long until my foot was inevitably snagged by the villain.

Out of options I called out to Queen Bee, "Any time now QB!"

During my exchange with Man-Mountain Queen Bee had wrapped her top's drawstring around his legs several times and after my verbal cue she pulled the string tight, bringing the giant's legs together and sent him reeling. Man-Mountain let go of my foot in order to stop his fall with his hand.

I landed beside Queen Bee and noticed that her honeycomb miraculous displayed only one last minute, "How long has it been like that?" I asked hastily.

"I am going to change back any second Cat Noir, you took too long to help me!" Queen Bee whined.

I grabbed Queen Bee's hand and ran straight towards the hole that I had made in the ground to the subway tunnel. "Ladybug is on her way, we did all we could for now."

"Wait! What!? Cat Noir I am starting to change back, I have to get out of here!" I turned around only briefly to discover that Queen Bee's mask was beginning to disappear as we ran. My eyes darted around the street only to find that there were spectators a couple hundred yards away from us. I couldn't allow any of them to see Queen Bee transform.

I stopped at the edge of the destroyed pavement and wrapped my arms around Chloe's head, whose face was no longer disguised by the bee miraculous. Her yellow and black superhero costume slowly shifted back to her thin white dress, which was now moist from the rain we were standing in. Even her hair had turned back to the styled curls she wore back to the way they were before her and I left the concert hall. Chloe's kwami poked her head out from Chloe's hair. In a concise way to explain the situation, I quickly dismissed her. "Stay out of sight, people are watching!" I warned.

I was so caught up in the adrenaline of the moment that I neglected to hear the sound of Man-Mountain barreling towards Chloe and I. "I have you now Chat Noir!" He yelled as he began to dive at me, his right hand sticking straight out in front of him to seize Chloe and I. "It's all over!"

I didn't have my staff to make a clean getaway. I only had one last idea that just might save myself and Chloe. I closed my eyes and held her tighter in my hold. I took a deep breath before I jumped into the subway tunnel while bracing myself for the impact of hitting the subway tracks which awaited me below. I couldn't hear the noise of my landing over the pounding rain but I could feel a burning sensation in the square of my back followed by a sharp pain along my spine. I refrained myself from yelling, but I allowed myself to let out a restrained grunt as I roiled in pain.

I opened my eyes to see a fearful Chloe laying on top of me, "Come on Cat Noir, he's going to try to grab us!" she said as she put my right arm around her shoulder to help prop me up.

Movement was immensely painful, as Chloe helped me to my feet I could feel a throbbing sensation in my backbone. I was in so much hurt that I physically bit my tongue so I wouldn't startle Chloe as she began to help me walk away from the opening.

As she had predicted, Man-Mountain reached within the tunnel and reached one hand in to claw at us. We could hear him from the surface in a muffled voice, "Where did you go? I'll get you one way or another!"

Chloe started to run with me still slung over her shoulder. We weren't out of his reach yet. I put all of my effort into moving my own legs to get more distance from the supervillain. The subway tunnels were pitch black. Apparently all of the power was shut off when they decided to close the entire station down. As Chloe and I ran from Man-Mountain's hand, we got further and further away from our only light source. Unfortunately for me, I was beginning to change back myself and Chloe still had enough visibility to see all of the details.

"Chloe! Turn around! I am about to-"

Too late. My mask was already gone and I saw my black leather suit disappear in exchange for my father's white suit. I felt Chloe almost drop me once she glanced at who she was supporting.

"A-A-Adrian!?" Chloe whimpered, her eyes moving over my form over and over as she desperately tried to process that I was in fact the one standing beside her.

I was more paralyzed from Chloe's expression than I was from my fall. I had to think of something, there had to be some way to convince Chloe that I wasn't Cat Noir. If I thought hard enough I am sure I could come up with _something_ that could explain away why I just transformed out of a Cat Noir costume.

"Holy smokes!" Plagg yelled out, breaking the silence, "Chloe knows we're Cat Noir Adrian! What are we going to do now!?"

"Plagg…" I said, restricting my voice from sounding too harsh, "Aren't you normally tired after I transform back? Why don't you take a rest?" My request sounded more like an order as I emphasized my last sentence.

Even in the dim light, I could see that Chloe looked as white as a ghost as she stared silently at me. It looked like the cat was finally out of the bag.

"Yes Chloe. It's me." I said with a small smile, "I am Cat Noir."


	13. Chapter 13: Since We Were Kids

Chloe's entire body was shaking. These last few days have been incredibly taxing emotionally, I suppose seeing my real identity was the straw the broke the camel's back. Man-Mountain had retracted his hand from the opening of the tunnel. Looks like Ladybug showed up in order to save the day in time for us to make our escape. Seeing the crowd of people watching Chloe and I fight a supervillain made me feel nervous. If anyone managed to saw us down here, the whole city would learn our secret identities.

"Chloe I think there is station up ahead with stairs to the surface, we should probably get going before anyone sees us." I suggested as I began to move on my own into the darkness of the cave.

"Adrian wait!" Chloe called out loudly as she reached behind me to grab my hand.

I turned around to see Chloe sopping wet in her white dress. Her hair looked heavy and her face was pale, practically all of her makeup was washed away during the fight. She looked terrified, "You can't walk around all on your own Adrian. You must have broken your back when you fell against the rails."

I blinked, "What are you talking about Chloe? I may have bruised it but it isn't anything nearly that bad."

"Whatever!" Chloe exclaimed as she forcibly lifted my arm over her head to return to the position we were in previously, my arm resting along Chloe's shoulders for support. "I'll feel better if you didn't push yourself any more than you already have… Also should I call you 'Cat Noir' from now on? Or can I still call you Adrian?"

I was baffled by Chloe's question, "Jeez Chloe, I am not an ego-maniac you know! Of course you should call me Adrian!"

Chloe's face flared up in a bright shade of red, "I was only asking! You don't have to make it out to be a big deal!"

I could feel Chloe's burning skin against my arm. She was standing out in the pouring rain but she felt like a fire was coating her entire body. "Chloe, do you have a fever? You seem really hot." I diagnosed.

"Shut up!" Chloe was quick to end the conversation there.

We both began to walk at a brisk pace, moving further and further away from the only source of light we had. It didn't take long until there wasn't any light left and Chloe and I were surrounded in a world of black. I had to reach my free hand out to run my fingers along the wall to have any sense of direction amidst the complete darkness. Chloe left her phone at home since she didn't want it to go off during the concert and I of course threw down my phone after I learned that Nathalie was tracking my movement. We also didn't have any food that could let us turn into our alter-egos. I wondered how long would this tunnel go on for. It only took me several minutes to go from stop-to-stop using the subway, but Chloe and I were on foot. It may take hours to finally emerge.

Would the subway station start operating again after Ladybug dealt with Man-Mountain and changed everything back? Chloe and I would have no way to get out the way if the subway cars resumed their routes. We only started walking a few minutes ago and already the darkness was beginning to play on all my fears and anxieties. I was glad that Chloe couldn't see the terrified look that I had on my face.

I felt overwhelming relief when Chloe spoke once again, "So, is there anyone else who knows?" she asked.

I cleared my throat, preparing my voice to not give away a tinge of distress, "You're talking about me being Cat Noir right? You're the only one who knows Chloe. I keep it a secret from everyone, especially my father who will absolutely ban me from returning to school after tonight." I let out a deep sigh, "I just can't help it. As much as I wanted to stay in school, there was just no way I could go about my normal life knowing that there would be people in danger."

"I forgot all about that." Chloe said solemnly, "I won't even get to see you next year." Chloe had a short pause before surprising me with a loud, "Idiot!"

I didn't know what to say, "Huh?" is all I managed.

"You're such an idiot!" I could feel Chloe's hair brushing against my arm as she shook her head, "All of those despicable things that Marechal Moulin has been saying about you while your father is putting all this pressure on you, why didn't you say anything? If I knew you were Cat Noir earlier I'd be worried sick! What is wrong with you?"

I was perplexed by Chloe's outburst. Under different circumstances I would think she was joking but the tone of her voice assured me she was serious, "But Chloe didn't you do the same thing with not telling anyone that your father and butler left you home alone?" My question seemed to disarm Chloe. She didn't say a word so I kept on talking, "You don't need to worry about me, I have it all figured out Chloe. This is all just a part of Hawkmoth's latest plan."

"You have his whole plan already figured out?" Chloe seemed surprised.

I explained all of the research I came across over the last several days and included my own thoughts along the way. "So basically, his whole plan was to give Ladybug a false sense of confidence by producing as many weak villains as possible. She'd easily take care of each of them, even if she was by herself but with the media out for Cat Noir, he wanted to inspire some doubt in her so that we'd eventually split up our partnership."

"Yeah, I was wondering about those same things." Chloe confirmed my suspicions, "I bet as soon as he saw you and Ladybug split up he'd akumatize someone really powerful so Ladybug wouldn't be able to handle it on her own."

"That is exactly what I thought too. It didn't work though, I talked to Ladybug earlier and she said that she was sorry, Hawkmoth's plan failed, we're still a team! You, me, Rena Rouge and Ladybug." I said, excited to rejoin with the rest of the team.

Chloe didn't seem satisfied. "Ladybug almost never called me to fight supervillains, even before we started have daily akuma attacks. Even if Ladybug is sorry for not believing us over Marechal Moulin, I think we're always going to be the superhero B team."

"The superhero _Bee_ team? That sounds perfect for us!" I teased.

Chloe giggled and jabbed my ribs with her elbow, "You are such a dork. I don't even know why I spend time with you." I could hear Chloe turn her head towards me to speak directly to me in a much more strict tone, "I was being serious though. This can't go on."

"What can't? Chloe, you know I don't really mind what people think about me. What is really important is that we always try to keep Paris safe."

"Stop saying that!" Chloe seemed to get aggravated, "You always say something similar at school too. Whenever you have a problem or something makes you feel sad you just keep it to yourself. You drop a line about 'what really matters is something else' and you go on pretending like nothing is wrong!"

Chloe stopped moving forward, forcing me to engage with her in this argument. "What else am I supposed to say? Really Chloe, it isn't like Ladybug wanted to get upset at me, it's just how she felt at the time. As for Marechal Moulin he has a right to get on tv and say whatever he wants, I can't stop him even if I wanted to."

"I can't believe you Adrian. The way Ladybug spoke to you, the way Marechal Moulin took credit for our hard work, and especially your father keeping you from school, all of these things bother you a lot. I know they do but I don't hear anything in your voice!" Chloe was practically yelling at this point but she quieted down with her next sentence "Please, talk to me Adrian. You might not be worried about yourself but I am."

What was happening to me? I was beginning to buckle under Chloe's emotional pressure. "Yeah, it's been really hard. Lately I feel like I am just tearing myself in two trying to live both sides of my life." I couldn't help but notice how unsteady my voice sounded as I spoke my words. I didn't want to talk much longer, "What spurred this on Chloe? Why are you so insistent right now?"

I couldn't see Chloe move behind me. She rested her hands on my shoulders and began to move her fingers to massage my muscles. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up straight and a nervous warmth filled my cheeks and face. What was Chloe trying to do?

She started to speak, "I remember back at the gala, after Ladybug called me the single worst person in France. I wanted Pollen to dress me up as Queen Bee so I wouldn't ever have to live another second as Chloe Bourgeois again. That was until you came up to me and held me tight. After you did that Adrian…" Chloe moved her hands down to massage my bruised back. Her massage was extraordinarily painful but I dared not interrupt her, "I never realized how amazing it felt to be cared for. You put your foot down and made me come to Crest Café even when I wanted to lie in my bed all day. You spent hours and hours helping me study and then planned to come with me to the concert until the akuma attacked. You did so much for me Adrian, you turned my whole world around and during that whole time, you were enduring a lot, weren't you?"

A mixture of Chloe's sincerity, touch and tender tone of voice caused me to falter. It was such a strange dynamic for Chloe and I to have, we were never this open and honest with each other.

No. It was me who was never open and honest. It wasn't only Chloe's strange behavior that was incapacitating me. It was years of isolation paired with a lingering numbness I had since my mother's funeral. It was time that I let go and allow someone else into my thoughts and feelings. Moisture began to form around my eyes but I intentionally kept my usual dialect, "You got me Chloe, it's been hard to manage. Nino is gone for two weeks, I completely let my assistant Nathalie and Father down, and now once I go back home I don't think I'll be able to leave again."

I could feel Chloe's arms move in front of my chest as she gave me a hug from behind. I could feel her heartbeat thumping even faster than my own. "Adrian, I am scared."

I stood in complete darkness with Chloe's arms wrapped around me. The whole situation felt more like a hazy dream than real life. "I am scared too Chloe, I am sure we'll make it out of here though. I know I can find a way."

"I am not talking about the tunnel, stupid." I could hear swelling emotion in between Chloe's words. "Are you really expecting a girl to spell it out for you? Honestly Adrian, you make me so mad sometimes."

Was Chloe thinking the same thing that I was? I had no experience reading these sorts of signals. "Chloe, I don't understand, what are you trying to say?"

Chloe pushed her forehead into the back of my neck as she whispered three unforgettable words to me.

"I love you."

…

What?

"Ever since we were kids Adrian." Chloe sniffled as she began to wipe her tears off on the back of my shirt, "I can't let you go again. Waiting for you the first time was too excruciating, I can't handle a second."

I turned around in Chloe's embrace, "I wish my feelings were as clear as yours, unfortunately, I started to like you in that way only until very recently."

"L-Like me!? I-In that way!?" Chloe jumped as I stroked the side of her face, trying to visualize her expression the best I could in the absence of light.

"I know it isn't much Chloe, but for the few hours I have left before my father locks me into my room forever, could I call you my girlfriend?" I asked.

Chloe chose not to use any words to answer, she reached her head up to meet mine. We were completely alone in the dark. Our clothes hadn't even fully dried from the rain. Neither of us had an idea when we would be able to leave the subway tunnel but as my lips met Chloe's, all of my worries vanished. We shared a kiss and I truly believed everything was going to be alright.


	14. Chapter 14: Breaking News

It took Chloe and I a little over two hours to finally reach the subway station and see a way out of the tunnels. It was hard to be scared when we were both laughing the entire time. Ever since our kiss, the fog between us had been lifted. All of Chloe's quirks began to fall in place in my mind.

"You seriously thought I'd start liking you more if you shouted my name every time you saw me and kissed my cheeks? The first time I came to school I was just wondering, 'whoa, what happened to Chloe?' you probably never even considered a more subtle approach huh?" I asked in a playful voice.

"Yeah! I thought guys were supposed to like that sort of thing! Let me guess, Mr. Models-For-A-Living can't even appreciate a little attention from a cute girl?" Chloe countered.

"A little attention? You were totally over the top!" I said with a chuckle, "At least you're better than Queen Bee, she's a real piece of work."

Chloe began to strike my shoulder with weak blows, "I didn't know it was you okay!? It's not fair to compare how I talked to you before, things are way different now!"

Chloe and I found the stairs to the surface. It was nice to have light coming from the lamp posts, but rain was still assaulting the city streets. Chloe and I needed a break to rest. The sky was dark, it was about to be nighttime and walking home would take at least another hour.

I was lucky to spot a diner still open. Chloe and I made a break for it without a second thought to enjoy the warm and homely atmosphere. A waitress led Chloe and I to a table for two and I made an audible groan as I sat down. I had been moving non-stop since Chloe and I took on Man-Mountain. I never even had the chance to rest my injured back until now. I looked out a glass window to see rain pounding against it from the comfort of the warm diner. Thank heavens Nathalie didn't put a tracker into my wallet. This was bliss.

It took me a few moments to realize that both Chloe and the waitress were staring right at me. Looks like I made a louder noise than I thought. The waitress gave me a bizarre look, "Can I get you two something to drink?" she asked.

I ended up ordering my food right away and Chloe followed suite. Plagg hadn't eaten in a long time, I wanted to take care of him as soon as I could. When the food did arrive, I allowed him to have the first few bites as I discretely snuck him the food under the table. Chloe followed suite, taking care of her kwami before herself.

Plagg poked his head out from under the table, "Hey Adrian can I hang out with Chloe's kwami in her bag? It's probably way more fun than being stuffed into your suit."

I quickly cupped my hands over the cat, "Plagg!" I said in a hushed whisper, "You can't go flying around when we're in public! You can do whatever you want, but just make sure you aren't seen by anyone!"

Plagg swiftly flew straight into Chloe's bag. "Hey!" Chloe objected, "Can't you ask me before you have your kwami go through my stuff?"

"Don't worry, he won't look through your stuff." I said, taking a sip from my water, "Plagg just wants to talk about me with… What was the name of your kwami again? Pollen right?"

Chloe could feel her bag buzzing with excitement as the two kwami gushed over how cute she and I were. "Oh. I guess that's okay then." Chloe conceded, "I wonder if Plagg has any really embarrassing stories about you Adrian." Chloe smiled, delighted in the thought that she might uncover an awkward secret or two.

"I am afraid you've already seen me at my worst Chloe." I said with a smile, "Probably not too much for Plagg to reveal."

Chloe took on a flirtatious expression, "Like that one time you didn't know how to swim but tried to play it off like you did to try to impress me?" Chloe giggled, "Yeah, I have seen you at your worst, but I guess that just means I get to have you at your best right?"

"It means you get to have me for this one date before my father decides I am too busy for friends." I shrugged comically.

"Yeah, whatever. You'd better call me every day. Every. Day. You got it? You're the sort of boy I can't just give up on." Chloe asserted.

If there was one thing I could say about Chloe, she was committed. It would probably be better for the both of us if I didn't ask her out and her not to tell me that she loved me after we both knew that I wouldn't be around much longer. Chloe knew all of this but had a blind faith that things would work out for the better. I was touched.

Our first and likely final date was interrupted by a TV monitor sat in the corner of the room. It showed a triumphant Ladybug in front of reporters and journalists. I closed my eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. She managed to take down Man-Mountain after Chloe and I left. Over the noise of the diner I could hear Ladybug's voice, "I wasn't alone this time though. Cat Noir was the real hero today, without him, there is no way I'd be able to make it here in time."

The field reporter did not look happy with Ladybug's answer, "Were you not the one to bring down the akumatized villain though? Don't you think someone like Marechal Moulin would have done an even better job?"

"I used to think so, but I was wrong." Ladybug explained, "Cat Noir has always been here for us, he's always-"

"How can you say that when he hasn't shown up at all for the last three supervillains that attacked?" the reporter pushed, cutting Ladybug's sentence off.

Ladybug was taken aback by the sudden questioning, she clenched her fists as her arms hung by her sides and spoke with guilt bleeding through each of her words, "He hasn't been here because of me. None of this is his fault." Ladybug snapped out of her funk when she heard the sound of her earrings. "I got to go! Bug out!" she called out as she swung out of frame using her magic yo-yo.

The broadcast changed back to the studio. To my dismay, Marechal Moulin was already there, ready to talk about Cat Noir once again.

Chloe touched my arm, pulling me away from the screen, "Adrian. It's time to set things straight, we need to talk with Marechal."

I held off confronting Moulin because I didn't want to further erode my partnership with Ladybug. After hearing her speak on the news, I realized it was time to show Hawkmoth that I didn't break so easily. "I couldn't agree more." I said, waving the waitress down to pay for our food.

Chloe and I stepped outside back into the ceaseless rain. With Plagg and Pollen well-fed we had no trouble transforming into our superhero identities. Queen Bee rode on her top while I vaulted across of rooftops with my staff. It was a bittersweet feeling running through Paris with Queen Bee. We had given up a relaxing evening to resume our superhero work. Making sure Paris was safe was the priority but I remembered what Chloe told me in the subway tunnel. If I stood up for myself earlier and spoke up with Chloe back at the gala, Marechal may have never got on the news and Ladybug wouldn't have bought into his promise to become a better Cat Noir than me.

Chloe and I stopped in front of the news studio. This time things would be different. I was going to take more control over my life as Cat Noir as well as Adrian Agreste. I needed to in order to make sure I made good on the responsibilities I had as both.

I opened the door for Queen Bee, "After you, your majesty."

Chloe reached out to pet my head as she walked into the building, "Good kitty."

As we made our way inside, all of the employees who worked there looked almost afraid to see Queen Bee and I. Each of them we passed said something similar. They would apologize for what has been happening, thanked the both of us for coming and then gave us directions to the main newsroom. The whole atmosphere was restless and tense.

We opened a final door to come face to face with Marechal Moulin who was speaking with the news anchor, set up with a table in between them. The cameras were rolling but Marechal completely stopped speaking after he saw me walk into the newsroom.

I was about to speak, but I didn't get the chance. All of a sudden, the news anchor let out a hysterical rant. "Go live! I can't take this anymore! Are we rolling?" The camera crew began to shuffle around, it only took them a matter of seconds before they gave the anchor a nod that they were prepared. "This is Nadja Chamack for TVi news. I have breaking news that our latest broadcasts following the akuma attacks have been manipulated by Hawkmoth."

The newsroom exploded in conversation. Even the professional camera men turned to each other to confirm what was being said. I looked towards Marechal Moulin to gage his expression.

Nadja Chamack continued, "The criminal mastermind threatened our staff if they did not comply with pushing Marechal Moulin's narrative of becoming the next Cat Noir. The reports of him defeating a supervillain have also been untrue, as the villain was actually defeated previously by the superheroes, Cat Noir and Queen Bee."

"What!" Marechal Moulin gasped, "No! None of this is true, turn the cameras off!" He barked at the employees. "Well, I may have taken credit for Show Stopper, but I didn't come on this show for myself! I came because YOU people told me I should!"

Everything was chaos. The whole story was beginning to unfold right on live television. Marechal Moulin was outraged and Nadja began to call the police right on the broadcast. Queen Bee and I exchanged glances with each other. This isn't what we had in mind when we agreed to talk to Marechal Moulin about what was going on.

Marechal stormed out of sight, leaving the building in a fit of rage. Nadja did her best to end the news update as eloquently as she could manage after her disastrous broadcast. I was stunned, I hadn't moved a muscle since I walked in the room. Thankfully, Nadja was the one to approach Chloe and I.

"I am so sorry Cat Noir, it hurt me to speak about you in that way but Hawkmoth told us that he would unleash some sort of weapon on us if we didn't comply with his instructions. He even akumatized my co-host to show that he was serious about his threat."

"Hawkmoth has a weapon?" I asked in disbelief. Perhaps I wasn't seeing the whole picture. Was Hawkmoth's plan more complicated than I thought?

"It's probably just a bluff." Queen Bee reassured me, "We will stay here just in case Hawkmoth does try to pull something. You're fine to stick around right, Cat Noir?"

Chloe knew the only place I would go is to the disapproval of Nathalie and my father. Imagining the scolding they would give me sent a shiver down my spine, "Of course, I am sure everyone here must have been terrified, I'll stay here until everyone feels safe."

Queen Bee and I waited around for half an hour, the workers were nervous at first, but while their worries began to subside as time passed, mine only grew. What could Hawkmoth mean by weapon? He couldn't akumatize people on-demand, there needed to be negative emotion first before a person could be turned into a supervillain. He could have been bluffing but why go through the effort? Hawkmoth had never gone through so much effort before, why did he invest so much into this one plan?

As I received a call from Rena Rouge everything fell into place. I lifted the staff up to my ear, using it as a phone. Rena sounded fatigued, "Cat Noir… Come to the Eiffel Tower quickly. It's Marechal Moulin. He's been akumatized… And he has Ladybug. I can't keep up my illusion forever…"

"No way…" I muttered as my eyes went wide. Hawkmoth counting on me calling Moulin out. He was ready to prey upon his jealousy, anger, and betrayal. Marechal was orchestrated by Hawkmoth, being built up as a person who should be a superhero instead of a neglected veteran of the war. His fall from grace was on live television and everyone saw him for his true self, one he kept hidden away from the public for years.

"What is it?" Queen Bee asked me as I slowly lowered my staff from my ear.

"Hawkmoth's weapon." I began, "I think we may have just created it."


	15. Chapter 15: Hawkmoth's Endgame

Chloe and I began to move through Paris' streets with remarkable speed. I was vaulting between buildings using my magic staff as Queen Bee rode on her top, carefully balancing on it as she moved at a tremendous speed. Chloe and I both knew the strength of a supervillain depended on their emotional state. The more negative emotion someone experienced, the more of a threat they would pose as an akumatized villain. Marechal treated me terribly when I first met him, Hawkmoth must have taken notice as he watched him take credit for taking down Show Stopper. He built up his ego, gave him the idea to use his new fame to become a new Cat Noir. He would lose himself in his own fantasy and when I came to give him a reality-check, Hawkmoth would already be ready to evilize him. He was the ace up his sleeve, someone he could count on when all other parts of his strategy failed. He was certainly one of the most dangerous villains I've had to deal with so far.

Queen Bee and I came within sight of the Eiffel Tower. There was a discernable red and black figured tied at the top of the monument.

"Is that Ladybug!?" Chloe yelled up to me.

I jumped down from my rooftop to run side-by-side with her. Chloe slowed down to accompany me. "I am afraid so. Rena told me that Marechal 'got Ladybug.' I guess this is what she meant."

"It's been at least five minutes since Rouge called you, she must have gotten out of sight before she transformed into a normal person again. I hope you have a plan kitty, because if Ladybug was beaten this easily, I can't imagine what he'll be able to do to us." Chloe said with concern.

We closed in on Marechal's position. He wore a black leather suit, eerily similar to my own, with only a few notable exceptions, the first being several white stripes circling his costume. Marechal's black hair was slicked back, revealing a sharp widow's peak at the top of his head. His eyes glowed with an eggshell white color, even his irises had adopted the color. He stood at the foot of the tower, he had been waiting a while for me to arrive.

"It's funny how things work out." The costumed Marechal spoke in a bone-chilling voice, "I wanted to be you so badly up until today. Me: the most competent and capable person to protect this city… And I wanted to be you: a _child_ with a cat obsession."

The familiarity of his insult cut into me. He spoke to me exactly like he did back at the gala. I winced as I remembered him tossing his red wine all over me.

Marechal continued his monologue, "It's a good thing that I found my own power. Now I am the only hero that this city needs. I walked all over Ladybug and wrapped her up with her own yo-yo. What chance do you two have? Everyone knows you two aren't heroes, you're embarrassments to Paris. People are going to forget all about Cat Noir, Queen Bee, and that failure Marechal Moulin too! They'll only remember The Midnight Tiger after what happens now!"

"The Midnight Tiger? You sure you don't want to workshop that name a little?" Chloe taunted with a smirk.

The supervillain honed his claws, "You think you're funny do you!? We'll see who is laughing after I bury you two with Ladybug!"

The Midnight Tiger began to scratch the Eiffel Tower over and over, each time yelling out my familiar phrase, "Cataclysm! Cataclysm! Cataclysm!" Each swipe destroyed more and more of the foundation of the tower. His power was exactly the same as my own except he had no limits to it. Each time he yelled 'Cataclysm' he was able to destroy more and more of the landmark using both of his hands instead of only one.

I handed my magic staff to Queen Bee, "Take this, use it to get to the top of the tower and free Ladybug."

She looked at me as if I sprouted a second head, "Cat Noir, there is no way you'll be able to fight him alone. Didn't you just see his power?"

I held my ground, "Yes, I know. Ladybug isn't safe up there though. You need to trust me to handle this the way I handle all akumas. I'll improvise."

Chloe took the staff from my hand, "Okay. You'd better not do anything stupid though! Make sure you're still down here when I come back!"

With that, Chloe used the staff to begin to scale the massive tower. Marechal didn't leave me much time to think about how I would fight him after that however. He immediately began to run at me in a full sprint, wildly throwing his hands towards me.

"You should have listened to your little friend!" he snarled, "I am stronger than you, faster than you, my superpower is stronger and most important, the people like me far more than they do you."

Marechal Moulin reached at me with a reckless abandon. One touch from his superpower and my entire body would be destroyed as if I was any other solid object. Evading his movements wasn't easy in the slightest. He was a foot taller than me and was still extraordinarily fit despite being twice my age. His superpower was also far more impressive. He was able to move wildly and unpredictably while always threatening me with the devastating power that surrounded both of his hands.

Eventually Marechal managed to graze my hair with his right hand. I felt several strands evaporate into thin air as I rolled out of his way. I looked up to see he wore a ring that looked similar to mine on his right hand. The ring had a white paw print emblem instead of a green one. I knew that was where he held is akuma but reaching it would prove to be a nearly impossible task. Going anywhere near his right hand may as well have been a death sentence.

"Watching you now makes me feel sorry for you. You saw me on the news and you really thought the miraculous would be better off with you instead of me? How inane." Marechal turned his back towards me and began to run away from me.

I wondered how I managed to scare him off only to realize that he was only running back to the tower in order to bring the entire structure down with Ladybug and Chloe still on it. I began to run after him as fast as my legs could carry me. I desperately tried to come up with a plan as I ran. I searched my mind for all of the different times I brought down a supervillain. I recollected all the times I figured out how to turn the tides back in my favor but none of my previous solutions seemed to help me with a villain set before me. Moulin outclassed me in so many different ways, I didn't know where to begin to challenge him.

By the time I caught up to Marechal he had already destabilized the entire tower. It swayed in the night as it slowly began to come apart. "You should have given me your power. You should have listened to what the broadcasters said on the news and everyone else who knew that someone like you can't handle the responsibility of protecting this city!" Moulin frothed as he leaned against one of the Eiffel Tower's legs. "I thought you liked telling jokes Cat Noir! You've been pretty quiet since we started our fight! Are you scared!? Terrified you're going to lose your miraculous to a better hero!?" Marechal cackled with laughter.

"I guess Cat got my tongue." I goaded as I put on a smile, "For the record, I don't think you're much of a hero with Hawkmoth telling you what to do."

"It's a business arrangement." Marechal justified, "I hand him your miraculous and he lets me keep these powers so that Paris becomes safer than ever before!"

"You call this making Paris safe? Marechal, you are destroying everything you've spent your whole life trying to protect!" I declared.

"It's not Marechal! That man is gone! I am Midnight Tiger!" The humiliation of the news broadcast lead Moulin to abandon his real name. Bringing it up seemed to send him into a delirium. "Cataclysm!" He bellowed as he slapped his hand against the ground, the perimeter around the Eiffel Tower turned back. He was ready to take the whole structure down.

"No! You can't!" I yelled as I ran towards Marechal.

Before I could reach for his ring, the supervillain placed his foot square in my chest, knocking me on my injured back with a sudden kick.

"Sorry kid. I'm Paris' hero now." Marechal said with a toxic sneer.

While still on my back, I faced the crumbling iron tower. It all caved in on itself, large beams of metal fell all around me. Did Queen Bee make it to Ladybug in time? Could they still beat The Midnight Tiger if I got buried by the debris? Was this the end of the line for me?

I started to think about my mother and wondered if she felt similar things to how I was feeling in that moment. She was an actress, always in the spotlight just Cat Noir. She was the best sort of person being reliable and sincere to everyone she came across. Even after she passed away, her memory pushed and motivated everyone who had the pleasure of knowing her to become a kinder and gentler person and I wasn't any different. I wished that I could be more like her but as my ears rang with the deafening sound of metal clashing against the concrete, a sense of hopelessness found me.

I lived two different lives, but the impact that Emilie Agreste had on Paris outweighed both of my identities put together. Cat Noir would be remembered as Ladybug's sidekick, a superhero who was always criticized for never doing enough. Adrian would be remembered as a quiet teenager who spent most of his free time alone in his room. My mother lived her life as a vibrant and passionate flame. I spent my time as a small flickering light, slowly beginning to fizzle out into smoke.

My body animated itself as I rose to my feet. I involuntarily began to move and felt my vocal chords begin to warm, "Cataclysm!" was the word I heard as began to reach my hand up towards a large wrought iron lattice that was in line to land on top of my head. I had no plan to beat Marechal and even if I did, I would only return home to never see my friends or Chloe again. Still, I felt my body refuse my excuse as my grasp began to break the metal that headed towards me. My muscles continued to exert themselves so that I could move out of the way of the rest of the crumbling tower.

I couldn't rationalize it in my mind, but this _couldn't_ be the end. There was still too much I needed to do and too many things that I left unsaid. I wanted to tell Nino all about how I asked Chloe to be my girlfriend just to see his exaggerated reaction. I still looking forward to seeing Ladybug again and smoothing things over after our last couple arguments. I also imagined a conversation between Nathalie and I. She'd forgive me after I apologized for constantly disobeying her, just like she always did. There was Chloe too. She had been through so much that she almost lost herself along the way. I wanted to be a person who could be there for her. More than anything though, I needed to show Paris that Cat Noir is someone they could depend on.

I assumed control of my movements once again as I stood in the middle of the broken tower in the rain. Standing face to face with my black and white tiger counterpart while the dusk sky loomed over us. "Am I supposed to be impressed?" Moulin asked, "You managed to not get crushed but so what? I am still stronger than you in every way and you've already used your superpower. It's over Cat Noir."

"Well you should be impressed." I said with a grin, "Surviving that took eight out of my nine lives." I bended my knees in anticipation. I had one more last ditch effort to take Marechal's ring. "I guess that means I have to make this last one count."

"What do you think you can possibly do? Look around Cat Noir! Ladybug and Queen Bee aren't anywhere in sight! You're all alone! You've lost!" Marechal snarled.

"Cataclysm!" I shouted as I stuck my right hand out, away from my body.

The Midnight Tiger rubbed his eyes as if he was doubting his own senses, "You can't use your superpower twice! That's impossible!"

I responded with movement. I only began to charge directly at Marechal Moulin, the ring on his finger absorbed my gaze.

The supervillain wasn't about to go down without a fight, "Cataclysm! Cataclysm!" He shouted, as he surrounded both of his hands in black magic.

I dived through the air towards the supervillain I came within reaching distance. As I was moving towards his ring, he was already anticipating my velocity, getting ready to clap my hand as I got too close. I focused my gaze on Marechal's fingers, mentally blocking out all other information apart from the nuanced motion of his hand.

"I have you right where I want you!" he said, bringing his left hand up and right hand down simultaneously to sandwich me between both sources of his devastating power.

I retracted my hand suddenly and tucked my arm back against my side. I slid across the ground, landing several inches to Moulin's right. I reacted as soon as I was able to see his hands begin to move. As I lay on the ground I managed to witness Marechal destroy his own akuma.

He clasped his hands, unaware that I never intended on touching him, he interlocked his fingers and white paw-print ring turned a solid black color. "N-no! Wait, it wasn't supposed to go like this!" Marechal said incomprehensibly as he watched the ring that imprisoned the akuma fall apart, releasing the black butterfly. "I was right. You couldn't use your superpower twice…" Marechal gasped.

I continued to lay on the ground. I closed my eyes and shrugged my shoulders, "Call it a cat-trick Moulin. I am surprised you didn't see coming. I thought you were the master when it came to this 'not telling the truth' thing."

From the remnants of the Eiffel Tower, movement stirred. A red shield with black polka dots pushed the broken iron beams out of the way and out from the rubble Ladybug and Queen Bee emerged.

Chloe managed to reach Ladybug in time to free her during my fight with the Midnight Tiger. From there, I assumed Ladybug used her lucky charm to create a shield that would protect the both of them from the collapsing tower. Ladybug had perfect timing to capture the akuma.

"It's time to de-evilize!" Ladybug caught the butterfly in her magic yo-yo.

I looked towards Queen Bee and gave her a bright smile as Ladybug repaired the entire Eiffel Tower along with all the other damage that the Midnight Tiger had caused.

"Miraculous Ladybug!"

The day was saved.


	16. Chapter 16: Only One Tier of Hero

The rain had finally subsided and myself along with the other two superheroes were left standing in front of the Eiffel Tower. Ladybug sank to her hands in knees, bowing her head down in front of me.

Ladybug started speaking so quickly she began to trip over her own words. "Cat Noir I need to say I am sorry for what I said before but I know my words won't ever be good enough for how I treated you. I wasn't in the greatest mood in these last few days because in my real- agh! I didn't mean to make excuses! I feel horrible pushing you away like I did, it was completely uncool and I understand if you don't forgive me!"

I was ready to reassure Ladybug but Chloe was the one to comfort the polka-dotted hero. "Yeah, you sure weren't thinking straight if you ever thought someone like _Marechal Moulin_ could ever take Cat Noir's place, but there isn't any reason to get on the ground and crying about it." Queen Bee offered Ladybug a hand, "We were all picked to hold our miraculouses you dummy. We can't just give up on each other after one or two bad judgement calls."

Ladybug bug stood up and looked towards me, "Do you feel the same way Cat Noir? Do you think we could go back to the way we were before?"

I gave my old friend a gentle smile, "Of course bugaboo. It's been over a year since we started doing this whole superhero thing. It's silly to think that we wouldn't have a few problems along the way." I gave Ladybug a shrug, "You should probably check up on Chloe Bourgeois though, from what I heard she isn't as forgiving as I am."

Queen Bee looked like she was about to say something but begrudgingly refrained from drawing more attention to her secret identity.

"I'll make time to see her tomorrow." Ladybug said with a determined nod of her head. "I have to go now before I change back, you should do the same Cat Noir. Bug out!"

I waved, "I'll be sure to head out real soon. Thank you for the apology Ladybug."

With Ladybug gone, I used the last several minutes of my superhero form to talk with Marechal Moulin who was still lying on the ground since his akuma left his ring. "W-what do you want now?" He sniveled, slowly crawling away from me.

"I want you to try to focus harder on finding a sustainable job and less time going to fancy parties." I stated.

Marechal feigned ignorance, "What the devil are you talking about?"

"The reason you wanted to become Cat Noir." I prompted, "It's because you haven't had a job in a while right? I read online that you haven't had the best track record when it comes to working with other people since the war." My ring flashed. I only had two more minutes as a superhero. I didn't have the time to pry into Marechal, "Listen to me, if there is even a small part of you who wants to help Paris, you need to be more kind to other people, especially strangers. Hawkmoth preys upon people with negative emotions, we won't beat him by beating up more supervillains. We beat him by helping each other as normal people."

Marechal sat up from the ground, "I really did believe I would make a better Cat Noir than you. I was so convinced that I stepped into a legal grey-area to prove it to people." Moulin then shifted uncomfortably, "I still think that I should be the one with that miraculous but you've given me quite a bit to think about for the time being."

Looks like that lackluster admission would be all I'd be getting from the ex-supervillain. I made my way back to Chloe, "Do you still have that staff I let you borrow?" I asked holding out my hand.

Chloe clutched the metal stick in her hands, delaying my leaving as she refused to hand it over, "This is probably it huh? You'll go home and things will be like they were before."

During my fight with Midnight Tiger, I was sure I would be able to find a way to still see Chloe. Yet as I looked into Chloe's sullen face, reality began to set in. "I'll talk to my father." I said optimistically, "I haven't been able to change his mind before but I've come too far just to be locked away in my room." My ring flashed a final time, "Chloe, I really have to go, that's all you wanted to say right?"

The blonde superhero hid the staff behind her back, "Just one more thing…" Chloe said slyly, "Just to make sure you're motivated to try your best…" Chloe grabbed my face, taking each of my cheeks in her hands and kissed me on my lips. I would have enjoyed it more if I wasn't in danger of transforming back. After a substantial amount of time, Chloe finally pulled away, "I really want to do more of that… So be sure to come back to school next year, okay?" Chloe said, enticing me.

"O-okay, I'll try Chloe." I cleared my throat. I almost never stammered like that before.

Chloe handed me my staff and I began to make my way home. I didn't manage to get far before Plagg popped out of my ring. "Two Akumas in one day, I don't know how you manage Adrian… After all this hard work we're about to get an earful from your father too."

"Hey Plagg, do you remember when you told me how I shouldn't have let Ladybug treat me like I did?" I reminisced.

Plagg let out a yawn. The kwami was completely taxed from the previous fight, "Yeah? What about it?"

"I think you were right. I am sorry I didn't stand up for myself earlier. Maybe we could have avoided the whole Marechal situation if I made myself more of a priority."

"That's great Adrian… You really should… Listen… To me… More… Zzz…" Plagg fell asleep as he gently floated down into my hands. I stuck him into my pocket, making a silent promise to spoil him with camembert cheese later tonight in my room.

The walk to my house took me much longer than I expected. I wandered the empty city streets, recounting how much time had passed since Nathalie had last called me. Two hours? Three? I was fatigue pulsed through my whole body but I picked up my pace and didn't stop moving until I arrived home.

Nathalie was already waiting for me as I opened the front door. She wore a face of stone with her chin close to her chest. "Adrian, thank heavens you're alright." She said without any verbal expression.

I began to feel sick. I should have planned out how I was going to apologize. I fumbled words in my mouth, "Nathalie! I- Listen. I- Uh…" I grit my teeth bowing my head slightly as I forced my words out, "I am so sorry! I never wanted to disobey you! You have to understand Nathalie!"

I dared not look up to see Nathalie's stoic expression. I could feel her piercing gaze on me. She was yelling before I decided to throw away my cellphone in order to stop Man-Mountain, whatever she was feeling now must be even worse.

"Of course I understand Adrian." Nathalie said in a calm voice.

"Are you being serious?" I asked in disbelief, "Is this the part where you say, 'of course I understand why you don't deserve to go to school.' Or something?"

The sound of Nathalie's gentle laugh was so foreign to me that my ears had trouble registering where the noise was coming from. "No, this is the part where I tell you that I have been in love before too." Nathalie said with a faint smile, "You wanted to help Chloe during the akuma attack right?"

Nathalie manufactured an excuse for me and I was willing to take it up as soon as she offered it to me. "Yes, of course! I should have said so earlier!" I should have just been content with her assuming that I wasn't a superhero in my free time, but my curiosity got the better of me, "Wait, what was that about love? You have someone Nathalie? I didn't know."

Nathalie returned to her robotic demeanor, "Yes. Thing did not work out between us so I chose to become your father's assistant." Nathalie cleared her throat, "While I am on the topic, before you run off to your room, I implore you speak with your father about your schooling. He seemed to be set on his decision but perhaps you could change his mind."

Nathalie had been on my side all along. I wouldn't have had the courage to challenge my father before, but after all that had happened I was motivated to see things through. "Thank you Nathalie. I am really glad I have you around. You may think of this as your job, but you're family to me."

Nathalie struggled to maintain her composure as her face began to move from a pale color to crimson, "That's kind of you to say Adrian." She managed.

I marched up the stairs with my chest pointing out. This was the one moment I had to turn my whole life around. I opened up my father's door without knocking. I was going to make good on my promise to Chloe. "Father." I spoke aloud, "I need to speak with you."

My father spun around in his office chair, revealing a shrunken, sleep deprived expression, "Do you know what hour it is Adrian? I don't have time for this. You had your chance to stay in school and you squandered it yourself. Homeschooling starts tomorrow and that is final."

My whole body began to shake as I entered my fight-or-flight response. I felt insecure being in the same room as my father and his harsh words shrank me even further. I remembered to calm down, remember why it was I came up here in the first place.

"Mother… Wouldn't want to see this happen." I said, holding my ground, "When you're this strict I feel like I need work against you in order to live properly. We should compromise so-"

I didn't get the chance to finish, my father snapped as he stood up from his chair, "This has nothing to do with your mother! Don't bring her into this!" My father balled his hands up into fists.

I squinted my eyes in determination. I wanted to yell at my father. This had everything to do with mother. He only acted this way because she left his sight and then ended up in an accident. I didn't want to get mad though. I was still wearing the suit that he personally designed for me. He loved me despite trying to keep me away from the world. "Father I'm hurting, can't you see that? I went to school for the first time in my whole life and I've met amazing people so far. I am so grateful for all the friends I have. I know you're afraid for all the bad things that might happen to me, but I also see a lot of great things that can come from going to a public school."

My father seemed to simmer down as he released his fists and walked closer towards me to speak facing me, "I am aware of that, but why do you need to keep running off? Haven't I given you enough space?"

I shook my head, "I wish you could understand better, but I have commitments in other places too. Not just with fencing, my modeling and karate either." I said, shying away, "I also started dating Chloe Bourgeois, she wasn't too happy when she heard I wouldn't be going to school next year."

Father let out a deep sigh, "I took on a big project for work Adrian. It took my full time and attention this whole week… Perhaps I didn't think everything through…" He closed his eyes in contemplation, "If I let you go back to school and give you a little more room, do you think you can be a little more punctual? I worry when you run off Adrian."

"As long as I can see my friends, I am going to do my best to put your worries at ease father." I said with elation.

"Very well. I will let your bodyguard and Nathalie know that you'll be attending school next year." My father said with a smile on his face.

I gave my father a warm embrace and fought hard to prevent myself from tearing up, "Thank you father." Those were the only words I dared to speak to save myself from becoming overly-emotional in the moment.

I walked to school the next day to be celebrated by the entire school. Chloe went around telling everyone that my father considered keeping me home and got everyone worried. I could hear people giving me encouragement as I passed through the halls.

"Welcome back Adrian!"

"So glad you're here!"

"Tell your dad I am done buying his clothes if he makes you leave!"

I started to feel shy. I've been recognized from my modeling before, but this attention was on a whole other level. Even teachers expressed how happy they were that I was going to stay at Françoise Dupont. I looked everywhere for Chloe. Although it was embarrassing, the warm welcome back to school felt incredible and I wanted to thank her.

It took me several minutes but I finally found her sitting on the rooftop alone. She didn't seem to notice me until I sat down beside her.

"A-Adrikins!?" Chloe looked startled.

"Hey Chloe. I wanted to say thanks, for everything." I said facing her.

"Oh, it's no big deal, I just told them that things haven't been easy for you the last few days. They did the rest." Chloe said nonchalantly.

"No Chloe, I mean for _everything._ Without you I don't know how I would have been able to handle this past week. You kept me grounded when everything was beginning to fall apart, as Cat Noir and as Adrian." I spoke sincerely. "I think our time together also made me realize just how special you are to me. I am going to take good care of you Chloe. That's a promise."

Chloe buried her blushing face in her hands, "Ugh! Why do you always need to do this!? Every conversation we have it's always so… Cute! You need to give me some time in between!"

I started to laugh, "Do I need to remind you of the last time I said goodbye? Chloe, if anyone needs to settle down it's you."

Chloe sighed and shook her head as her lips turned into a small smile, "Oh, whatever. I promise to take good care of you too Adrikins. You mean more to me than you know."

I leaned in to kiss Chloe but was quickly cut off as both Plagg and Pollen few in between my head and Chloe's. "Adrian! Can you stop for five seconds and look at the giant robot behind you!?" Plagg scolded.

I turned my head to see that Plagg was telling the truth. I was so enamored with my conversation that I didn't even realize there was an akumatized robot supervillain the size of a building stomping through Paris.

"Hurry up Chloe! We gotta save everyone!" Pollen said to Chloe.

Chloe and I transformed and we ran after the supervillain. This was only the start of our many escapades. Our relationship was one-sided at first. Chloe had to do a lot of the leading, but slowly over time I found more and more things that I loved about her. With me spending so much time around Chloe, we were often together as Cat Noir and Queen Bee when akumas broke out. It didn't take long for me to earn back the reputation that I had lost to Marechal Moulin. A week ago I was considered a sidekick, but thanks to Queen Bee's help, I rivaled even Ladybug's greatness. Not that it mattered. With Chloe by my side, everything fell into place.

I couldn't ask for a better double-life.


	17. Author's Note

**Hello everyone, thank you for reading my little story about my favorite two blondes from Miraculous. This was my first ever fanfiction, so all the support and comments really humbled me and pushed me to keep writing every day. Especially LeilaDarkholm and Niom Lamboise, you two rock. If anyone out there reading this enjoyed this, I plan to write more stories that give Ladybug a little more love so stay tuned when I start posting again in another week or so. Until then, I want to thank all of you for reading my story and to tell you that I am looking forward to doing this all again real soon.**

 **-Macaroy**


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